When selecting an egg donor, there are many things that future parents consider. Hair color, family health history, and ethnicity are examples of some of things that clients think about. After days of searching, some client’s will hone in on one or two potential donors that seem to encompass the characteristics they had been looking for – and then they realize, they live on the other side of the country! Am I able to work with donors that live in a different state? It says on their profiles that they are “willing to travel”, but what exactly does that mean? Will my physician still facilitate the donation cycle? And who makes all the travel arrangements? These are all very good questions that we are asked daily.
First off, donors’ traveling out of their remote area and even out of state for a cycle is extremely common. An estimated 80% of our cases involve out of state travel.
When a donor is required to travel for a cycle, she will typically make a total of two trips. The purpose of the first trip is for the donor to meet with your physician and complete the necessary medical screening. This is a quick day trip and the donor can typically fly in and out on the same day, or sometimes one overnight stay is required.
The donor will travel again towards the end of the cycle (this time with a companion) so that that your doctor can monitor her very closely leading up to the egg retrieval. They can stay anywhere from 5-12 days and the length of time will be determined by your physician.
There are several appointments that a donor will have at an outside monitoring facility close to where she lives. Family Creations will locate the best facility, and your doctor will send orders for the tests that he or she would like performed. These are typically for ultrasounds and blood work and the results are all sent back to your doctor. (This way your physician is still the one facilitating the cycle.)
Family Creations will make all the necessary travel arrangements for the donor and her companion throughout the cycle. We book flights, arrange the hotel, and also arrange ground transportation for the donor. We collect an expense deposit at the start of the process so that we are able to book the necessary arrangements. A full breakdown of expenses is provided to you at the close of the cycle and any left over funds are returned.
On each donor’s profile, it states weather or not that donor is willing to travel. Most of our donors are very willing to and they actually enjoy the idea of experiencing a new place they might not otherwise have the opportunity to visit.
While finding a local donor does save a bit on cost, it is not always possible. Many times, clients hope to find a local donor but then come across a donor out of state who has all the characteristics they had been hoping to find. Again, this type of travel is very common, and Family Creations facilitates all of the arrangements.
If you have any other questions related to the travel process for donors, don’t hesitate to call us at 818-225-1700.