Third Party Reproduction

Egg Donation

The Yale Egg Donation Program, which began in 1989, was one of the first programs of its kind in the Northeast.

The main objective of the program is to provide women an opportunity to achieve a pregnancy that would otherwise be impossible. Oocyte (egg) donation allows women, whose ovaries do not contain eggs or contain eggs that are unlikely to result in healthy embryos, to become pregnant.

An increasing number of women are choosing egg donation programs when other traditional infertility procedures, including IVF, have been unsuccessful. It is a valid option for many couples who have repeatedly failed IVF cycles. It is also appropriate for women who were born without ovaries, whose ovaries have been removed due to endometriosis, tumors, or surgery, whose ovaries may have been damaged by radiation or chemotherapy, or whose ovaries are now producing eggs with decreased viability due to advanced maternal age, premature menopause, or chromosomal abnormalities.

There are several things to consider when deciding to enroll in the program. There are emotional, psychological, physical, and sometimes legal issues that need to be resolved prior to beginning the process. Realizing these needs, the program offers professional counselors and well experienced staff to help couples make these decisions.

Click here to learn about becoming an egg donor.

Anonymous vs. Directed Egg Donor

Our program offers couples the choice between anonymous vs directed (known) egg donor.

Donors for our program are recruited from local communities and are carefully screened. They are healthy women between the ages of 21-32 who have passed a rigorous screening process, which includes extensive genetic and infectious disease screening, a thorough physical examination, a psychological assessment by the program counselor, and thorough cycle monitoring by the program coordinator. Final approval of the anonymous donor is made with the physicians, coordinator, counselor, and recipient couple.

An alternative to using an anonymous donor is using a directed, or known, donor. The donor may be a family member, relative, or friend of the recipient and must pass all the screening tests.

Gestational Surrogacy

This program provides the opportunity of having a baby to women that have either lost their uterus (removed by surgery) or were born with congenital anomalies of the uterus making them unable to carry a pregnancy. Gestational surrogacy is also available to women whose medical conditions advise against carrying a pregnancy.

Embryo Donation

This service provides the opportunity for infertile couples to become pregnant with embryos donated by patients who previously went through infertility procedures at the Yale Fertility Center. Once the donating couple, without identifiable genetic disease, has the number of children they wish to have, they may donate their remaining embryos to the Center for other patients, and this provides an infertile woman the chance to carry a child in utero.

Physicians of the Third Party Reproduction Program at Yale