Family building FAQs

The first step is to fill out a short form in which you share more about your family and what you’re looking for in an egg donor. You’ll then gain immediate, free access to our matching platform and can start browsing for your perfect match. When you’re ready to begin the process with a specific donor, you can place a hold on a match for up to seven days.

We believe the concept of “family” takes many forms, and we’re here to help your family grow, whatever that looks like. So regardless of your gender identity, sexual orientation, or relationship status, we do not discriminate, period.

In traditional egg donation, all of the eggs retrieved in a given cycle are given to the intended parents in exchange for payment. However, in egg sharing, the donor has the opportunity to keep half of the eggs retrieved for their own future family planning in exchange for donating the other half to your family.

At Cofertility, we exclusively work under the egg sharing model, which we call Split, because we think it’s better for everyone involved – the intended parents, the egg donor, and ultimately the donor-conceived child.

Read more about the Reasons Why Egg Sharing is an Ideal Egg Donation Model for Intended Parents

While some agencies charge extra for a guarantee, Cofertility’s Embryo Guarantee is built into our pricing—because we’re committed to helping you grow your family. Whether you match through our fresh or frozen program, if the eggs you receive don’t result in the number of embryos we promise, we’ll rematch you at no additional fee to Cofertility.

What does this mean? If your donor doesn’t clear genetic screening—we’ll rematch you. If your donor isn’t medically approved by your physician—we’ll rematch you. If you fall short of the guaranteed number of embryos—we’ll rematch you.

In short, if something outside your control prevents you from getting to the minimum number of embryos guaranteed, we’ve got your back. Our Embryo Guarantee gives you up to two free rematches over two years—until you reach the number of embryos outlined in your guarantee.

To read more about Cofertility’s Embryo Guarantee, including how it applies to our fresh and frozen egg donation programs, click here.

We work with anyone who is looking to build a family through egg donation, in the U.S. or anywhere in the world. Our donors are primarily based in the U.S., and we are happy to work with intended parents around the globe, depending on your country’s laws around third-party reproduction.

When it comes to our team, we collaborate remotely and are distributed across the U.S.

When you’ve found a donor you want to move forward with, press the “Hold match” button at the top of their profile. From there, you’ll pay a $500 Match Initiation Fee to place a hold on that match for the next seven days. Placing a hold removes a donor from the platform and prevents them from matching with any other intended parents. Within 24 business hours, your Member Advocate will reach out to set up a kickoff call and discuss next steps. To proceed with the donor, you must confirm your decision and pay the full match fee within the 7-day hold period.

When you match with a donor in our fresh egg donation program, the process from match to cycle may generally be two to four months. As soon as the mutual match is confirmed, we can begin the process of scheduling her screening and testing with your clinic, which generally takes a few weeks. Once your doctor gives the go-ahead, we’d set a date for the cycle at a time that is mutually convenient.

Matching with a donor in our frozen program can provide a unique opportunity to move forward with your family-building plans even faster, as frozen eggs can be fertilized or shipped to your clinic immediately. Time from match to cycle will be  faster with frozen since the screening – which is what takes the most time – is already completed. If you’re looking to transfer embryos ASAP, matching with a frozen donor can help make that happen.

Yes. Unlike others in the space, we pride ourselves on facilitating mutual matches that meet the needs of you, your family, and the donor. After you place a hold on a match, a member of our team will reach out to the donor to ensure that they have the opportunity to voice their preferences around disclosure status. Our hope is to facilitate a mutual match in which your and the donor’s disclosure preferences are aligned.

With a fresh donation cycle, you match with the donor before she undergoes any screening. Her screening and retrieval will be done at a clinic of your choice. With a frozen donation cycle, the donor has already completed all of her screening and cycle. Her screening and retrieval will have been done at one of Cofertility’s partner clinics. You can either thaw and fertilize the eggs there or have them shipped to your clinic.

Ultimately, the path that’s best for you depends on your timeline and family-building goals. To learn more about how to decide which path to pursue, check out this blog we’ve written on the topic.

In a disclosed donation with Cofertility, you and the donor will exchange contact information and can communicate directly. In an undisclosed donation, you will not exchange contact information and only communicate via Cofertility. With an undisclosed donation, you could arrange to have the information available to your child down the road (this is sometimes called Open ID). 

We highly encourage disclosed donations as we’ve met with the US Donor Conceived Council and heard from the donor conceived community that disclosed is best for the donor conceived person. However, if you choose to move forward with an undisclosed donation after careful consideration, we will honor that decision. 

‍Read more in Disclosed vs. Undisclosed Donation: What’s the Difference?

Every relationship is unique and depends on the desires of all parties involved: you, the donor, and any future donor-conceived children. The extent of the relationship, including the point at which your contact information is shared and the frequency of communication, is up to both parties and will be determined during the agreement phase. 

It’s important to separate your disclosure status from any potential relationship that you have with the donor. For example, you may have a disclosed donation, in which you share contact information but decide not to maintain any regular communication. 

In any case, more research shows the benefits of being open with children about their donor-conceived roots. As such, we encourage you to be open with your own children about their conception story. We share more about our stance on disclosure in this article.

Regardless of your disclosure status, you and the donor may choose to meet as part of the match process. This meeting can take many forms. For example, you can meet over Zoom, over the phone, or in person. The meeting can be facilitated with or without sharing contact information. Some intended parents choose not to meet live but to instead share information about themselves via a letter, slides, or video to their donor. 

If you do meet “live,” we’ve put together a list of suggested questions and conversation starters that we’ll share with you and the donor before your meeting. Your Member Advocate will also join the call to help facilitate introductions and conversation. 

If you match with a donor in our fresh egg donation program, your match meeting can take place before she begins her screening. If you match with a donor in the frozen program and are both open to a meeting, it will take place after her retrieval. 

Ultimately, we view a match meeting as a way to connect with the donor on a deeper level but there’s no right or wrong way to do this. If it’s something you’re interested in, we’ll work with you to do so in a way that feels good for you.

It is impossible to guarantee anonymity in egg donation. With widely available genetic testing and more state laws banning anonymous gamete donation, it’s increasingly likely that identity and shared genetics will be discovered. We ensure that our Split members (who will be freezing her eggs and donating half to your family) are aware of the possibility that, even in an undisclosed donation where contact information is not shared, donor-conceived children may eventually want to reach out with their own questions.

‍Read more in Why We Don’t Believe in Anonymous Egg Donation

We’re committing to working with donors who are as unique as you and your family, and hope we can find someone who is a great fit. There is no fee to access our matching platform and once you have an account, you can indicate specific characteristics or criteria that you’re looking for in a match. Sign up for emails so you can get notified, as we are constantly adding new members who may be a good match for you and your family. Still don’t see what you’re looking for in a donor? Send us an email at [email protected] and we can discuss how we can help.

At Cofertility, we offer both fresh and frozen egg donation. Ultimately, for many intended parents, the choice between our fresh and frozen programs often comes down to finding the right donor. Both programs have their merits, and the best choice for you will depend on your specific circumstances, preferences, and the connection you feel with potential donors.

Nope! We’re excited to work with you regardless of where you are in the family-building journey. Whether you’re just starting the process or have an established relationship with a clinic, we’d love to walk the rest of the road with you. 

Absolutely. While we do not have any exclusive clinic relationships, we pride ourselves on working with a range of clinics whose clinical teams deliver high quality, compassionate care. Get in touch and we’ll be happy to connect you with one in your area. 

Yes! We work with an incredible team of medical advisors who keep us in-the-know of the latest outcomes-based research, regulatory updates, and best practices. You can learn about the members of our Medical Advisory Board on About Us page. 

For donors who are completing a fresh donation cycle, we will initiate genetic testing upon your match being placed. matching. Their results, along with the intended father or sperm source’s genetic testing results, will be evaluated by a genetic counselor to ensure there is no genetic issue or mismatch between the two.

Donors who are completing a frozen donation cycle will have all completed genetic carrier screening in advance of their retrieval. Once you place a match, we can share all of those records with you and your physician. If your physician requires any additional or single gene genetic testing, we are happy to help facilitate this and you would be responsible for any added costs.

While we don’t currently offer surrogacy matching, we can refer you to a reputable surrogacy agency who can help make this happen!

We follow ASRM guidelines that limit an individual to six donation cycles across her lifetime. 

Cofertility works with any clinic that reports outcomes to SART and has a CAP certified lab. Some clinics have specific requirements related to working with outside donors and have policies in place for how they handle those cases. We’ve worked with 150+ clinics but if we haven’t yet worked with yours, reach out to our team and we can send a list of questions that we recommend you ask them before getting started.

Yes, but we will help with this part. When you and the donor agree to move forward with your match, you’ll enter into a legal agreement designed to protect the rights of both parties. We can refer you to a lawyer with expertise in the fertility industry and our programs; they will draft and review the contract, ensuring you have no unanswered questions. While it’s likely faster to work with one of the attorneys we’ve worked with before, if you prefer, you may also use your own outside counsel, though we ask that he/she has experience dealing in fertility and egg donation.

At Cofertility, we exclusively work under the egg sharing model. Rather than cash compensation, our donors keep half of the eggs retrieved and donate the other half to your family. We believe this model benefits everyone involved, particularly the donor-conceived child.

Egg share programs like ours implement meticulous testing and medical screening to ensure donors have a high likelihood of success. For those who match with a donor undergoing a fresh donation cycle, the average number of mature eggs a family receives and fertilizes is 12*.

‍The number of eggs retrieved varies by patient and cycle, but can be predicted by a donor’s age, AMH, and antral follicle count, all of which will be known to you after the donor’s initial screening. Egg share donors also often work closely with a fertility doctor to determine, based on their own medical history, the optimal number of eggs needed for their own future family-building goals. Should it make sense for the donor, they may choose to pursue a second egg-sharing cycle to maximize the chances of success for everyone involved.

With frozen donation, each donor has at least 6 eggs available.

To learn more, click here to download our “Egg Sharing: Will I get enough eggs?” guide.

*Note: this number is updated periodically based on cycle outcomes. 

All Cofertility egg retrievals are conducted at fertility clinics in the US; as such, the donation process will be the same regardless of where you’re currently located. If you are not yet established for care at a clinic in the US, we can help you select a clinic local to your donor or in another city of your choice. After the retrieval process is complete and/or embryos are created, there may be options to ship them to clinics outside of the US. However, it’s important to note that different clinics and countries have specific regulations governing the shipment and acceptance of frozen eggs and embryos. Before starting the process, be sure to reach out to us at [email protected] with questions about your specific situation.

Our team and clinic partners screen donors through a rigorous, multi-step process to ensure each person is qualified and prepared to become an egg donor, going above and beyond FDA and ASRM-recommended screening guidelines.

Before donors can be listed on our platform, we review their personal and family medical history and collect information on their lifestyle and behavioral habits. We also obtain AMH results for most donors before they match. Most importantly, we meet 1:1 with every donor to get at the core of who she is as a person — her values, her goals, her personality. This allows us to provide you with the most thoughtful match possible.  

If you match with a donor available for a fresh cycle, the donor will undergo a physical examination, psychological evaluation, and full genetic screen after you match. Your doctor will review these results and give us the green light to move forward. We will also ensure that donors are screened for background and education checks.

If you match with a donor who has completed a frozen cycle, she will have completed all of the required screening in advance of her retrieval. Once you place a match, we can share all of those records with you and your physician. If your physician requires any additional or single gene genetic testing, we are happy to help facilitate this and you would be responsible for any added costs.

If you match with a donor available for a fresh donation cycle, we’ll work with both parties to determine the best place to conduct her testing, monitoring, and retrieval. In some cases, we will complete the donor’s testing and monitoring at a clinic close to her home to eliminate travel and can have the eggs shipped to your clinic. In other cases, donors will travel to your clinic for the retrieval. Ultimately, this is a decision that will be determined during the matching process.

We work with some families that want as many eggs as possible to increase the chances of having more than one child. In these cases, we can work with all parties to arrange two egg retrieval cycles. Depending on your and the donor’s preferences, you can either split both cycles, or agree to an arrangement in which eggs from the first cycle go to the family while eggs from the second cycle go to the donor (or vice versa).

Yes! If both parties agree to complete a second cycle, you’ll pay a reduced coordination fee of $5,000. While you won’t need to pay for screening expenses, you will be responsible for covering fees related to the donor’s medications, retrieval cycle, and shipping her portion of eggs to her existing storage facility. You can find more detailed pricing information on a second cycle in the “Pricing” section below.

If the donor does not pass your doctor’s initial screen, you’ll be covered under Cofertility’s Embryo Guarantee.

We will help you rematch with another donor at no additional fee to Cofertility and continue to support you until you successfully achieve our minimum guaranteed embryos

Our focus is on helping you grow your family — and we’ll match you up to three times, for up to two years from your original match date.

After your donor has passed her preliminary medical screening, we will coordinate with your clinic to schedule a psychological exam for your donor. The psychological exam ensures that the donor understands the egg donation process and the implications of her decision to be a donor and that she fully consents to the Split program’s rules and requirements. 

At Cofertility, we exclusively work under the egg sharing model. Rather than cash compensation, our donors keep half of the eggs retrieved and donate the other half to your family. We believe this model benefits everyone involved, particularly the donor-conceived child.

Egg share programs like ours implement meticulous testing and medical screening to ensure donors have a high likelihood of success. For those who match with a donor undergoing a fresh donation cycle, the average number of mature eggs a family receives and fertilizes is 12. The number of eggs retrieved varies by patient and cycle, but can be predicted by a donor’s age, AMH, and antral follicle count, all of which will be known to you after the donor’s initial screening. Egg share donors also often work closely with a fertility doctor to determine, based on their own medical history, the optimal number of eggs needed for their own future family-building goals. Should it make sense for the donor, they may choose to pursue a second egg-sharing cycle to maximize the chances of success for everyone involved.

To learn more, click here to download our “Egg Sharing: Will I get enough eggs?” guide.

*Note: this number is updated periodically based on cycle outcomes.

If you and the donor are both open to meeting, we can absolutely facilitate a match meeting. We’ve collected all donors preferences on meeting and can let you know whether a given donor is open to this. With our frozen program, we facilitate match meetings after the donor has cycled.

Yes! Most donors who are completing a frozen donation cycle are open to either disclosed or undisclosed donations. Provided you’re both aligned on disclosure, we can absolutely facilitate the exchange of contact information between two parties. We can also still facilitate match meetings that take place once the match is confirmed.

Most clinics will review the retrieval clinic’s freeze and thaw protocols alongside the screening and embryology records, all of which we’re able to provide. We’re also happy to connect with your clinic to confirm whether there’s anything else they’ll need in order to accept the eggs.

While we have seen great outcomes with these clinics and would be happy to recommend completing your cycle there, you can also ship the frozen eggs to your clinic for fertilization and transfer. We can share the retrieving clinic’s freeze / thaw protocols along with anything else that your clinic wants to see before accepting the frozen eggs.

Every frozen match has a minimum of 6 frozen eggs, but a given donor may have more frozen eggs available based on her cycle outcomes. 

A donor’s eggs from a given retrieval may be shared by up to 3 families at most. Compared to traditional egg banks, our model reduces the number of potential family units and biological half siblings that your donor conceived child(ren) may have in the future. If a given donor has already donated to another family, that will be clearly noted on her profile.

We’re currently running the frozen donation program with select clinics in select cities. As a result, we only have frozen eggs from a limited number of donors. Donors participating in our frozen egg donation program will have a note in the “About this donor” section of their profile. We also have many donors in the process of cycling now and expect to continue adding more to the platform over time.

Donors participating in our frozen program will have a note in the “About this donor” section of their profile.

If you are looking specifically for a donor in our frozen egg donation program, get in touch with us at [email protected]. We have several donors who are in the process of completing their cycles who have not yet been listed on our matching platform that we may be able to share with you.

We do not view egg donation as a one-and-done transaction. In fact, we think about your embryo transfer as the beginning of your relationship with Cofertility. We’re passionate about supporting donor-conceived children and families and as such provide a range of educational and support tools and services to help you raise happy and healthy families. You’ll retain access to those resources for life.

Regardless of the match disclosure status, our donors are aware that they may be asked to provide more information in the event that your child develops any serious medical issues. We also ask our donors to proactively share any updates to their medical history so that we can pass relevant notes along to you and your family. 

If you and the donor’s relationship is such that you are communicating these updates to one-another directly, please also share them with us so we can ensure any internal records are kept up-to-date. 

The total cost of a fresh egg donation journey with Cofertility includes a Match Initiation Fee, coordination fee, and third-party expenses. In addition to these costs, clinic-dependent medical expenses will vary based on your chosen clinic, and if your donor needs to travel for any part of the process, you will be responsible for those expenses. While we don’t control these costs, we can help you estimate them once your clinic and donor are selected.

Pricing Breakdown:

• Match Initiation Fee: $500
• Cofertility’s Coordination Fee: $10,000
• Third-party expenses (covers essential services, including legal fees, background checks for the donor and intended parents, egg storage, and insurance. These expenses are paid directly to service providers, with funds deposited into escrow upon match confirmation and any unused funds refunded): $6,500* 

*Estimate based on Cofertility’s recommended service providers

In a frozen egg donation journey with Cofertility, the donor completes her initial cycle prior to matching. Pricing follows a per-egg model, so the total cost of each match depends on the number of eggs available.

The match cost includes all coordination fees and clinic-dependent cycle expenses (donor’s medical protocol, retrieval, and medications), with no hidden fees or extra charges.

Price per frozen egg:

6-9 —– $3,500

10-15 —– $3,300

16+ —– $3,100

For example, if the donor has 7 frozen eggs available the cost would be $24,500. If she has 10 frozen eggs available the cost would be $33,000.

Sometimes, your physician may require additional or single gene genetic testing, depending on the sperm source. If this is the case, we are happy to help facilitate this and you would be responsible for any added testing costs.

For a more detailed breakdown, visit our pricing page.

When it comes to donor egg IVF, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) considers it a medical expense, which means it may be tax-deductible under certain circumstances. We suggest consulting with a tax professional to determine if you qualify for a deduction and how much you can deduct. Some states offer tax credits for fertility treatments, so be sure to check if your state offers this benefit.

When donor eggs are deemed medically necessary by a doctor who has provided a Letter of Medical Necessity (LMN), related expenses may be eligible with a flexible spending account (FSA), health savings account (HSA) or a health reimbursement arrangement (HRA). If you work with Cofertility, you will get a receipt that you can submit for reimbursement with your plan. We recommend consulting with a tax professional in advance.

Cofertility’s fees are paid directly to Cofertility through credit card or wire transfer.

Administrative fees and travel fees are paid through an escrow account managed by SeedTrust, the nation’s leading egg donation escrow fund manager. Medical fees are typically paid directly to the clinic or pharmacy. 

The $500 Match Initiation Fee is refundable if your donor becomes unavailable before you’ve paid your coordination fee.

After the coordination fee is paid—or once you’ve signed your formal agreement and moved forward with your fresh or frozen egg donation journey—the Match Initiation Fee becomes non-refundable.

However, we’re happy to apply it toward a future match to help you continue your journey.

Nope! There is no fee to register with Cofertility. Completing the form will allow you to create a profile on our matching platform.

If you match with a donor in our fresh egg donation program and choose to do a second cycle with the same donor, the estimated cost is $6,400 plus any clinic expenses associated with the donor’s cycle and travel. 

‍These costs include:

• Reduced Cofertility Coordination Fee: $5,000
• Reduced admin expenses: $1,400

The reduced costs reflect the fact that her screening will have already been completed and a second legal agreement may not be required. The exact costs may vary depending on the cycle model.

All pricing information provided or shared on our website, contracts, and supplementary materials is exclusively denoted in United States Dollars (USD).