by Leigh Ann Woodruff, July 2012
For many years, couples and single people in need of sperm donation to build their families have had a fairly simple, straightforward process of going to a sperm bank and selecting a sperm donor from among the many available files. Once selected, sperm could be shipped to the fertility clinic and inseminations performed on the recipients' time frames.
For those in need of egg donation, the process was not quite so simple. "Fresh egg donation is time consuming and can be worrisome and costly for couples needing donor egg to start their family," says Michael Levy, M.D., a fertility doctor with Shady Grove Fertility Center. "These couples must find a donor, hope the donor will pass rigorous genetic, infectious disease and psychological screening, then wait for the donor's menstrual cycle to align with the cycle of the woman receiving the eggs." The entire process can take anywhere from three to 12 months, and cycles may be canceled for reasons unrelated to the recipient.
Now, however, couples and single parents by choice in need of egg donation have a new option —frozen egg banking. With the ability to select frozen eggs, there is more access to egg donation, the process is simplified, and procedures can be performed on the recipient's timetable.
