Innovative egg donation arrangements — Egg Sharing and the Egg Bank

In 2008 Circle Surrogacy started offering clients the first ever surrogacy plan with a frozen Egg Bank. The plan is offered in conjunction with Connecticut Fertility Associates (CFA), our premium fertility center. We are pleased to report that this program has been extremely successful so far, with pregnancy rates that match and exceed our success with fresh eggs. In 2009 we also added the similar Egg Sharing option that offers similar success rates (only $5000 more expensive). These programs can save $15,000 - $27,000 over conventional egg donation surrogacy options. The Egg Sharing option cuts the costs of egg donation almost by half by sharing the eggs of an experienced, proven egg donor. In conjunction with the Egg Bank, there is no need to wait for another couple that agrees to use the same donor, since the remaining eggs can be frozen. The Egg Bank option involves a new and safe rapid freeze (vitrification) process and also the use of proven egg donors. The plan eliminates the wait and costs associated with the monitoring and synchronization of the donor and carrier, but offers a more limited egg donor selection and may leave fewer frozen embryos for future cycles. Both programs can also be used as fallback options to control costs for people who need a new donor at the last minute or after a failed cycle.

Click below for the detailed cost sheets for each plan, and see below for a complete description of each plan:
Egg Sharing Surrogacy plan for USA clients
Egg Sharing Surrogacy plan for International clients
Egg Bank Surrogacy plan for USA clients
Egg Bank Surrogacy plan for International clients

CFA's Egg Sharing Program

The Connecticut Fertility Associates Egg Sharing program can be accessed for:

• • First time use with egg donation and/or surrogacy
• • As a fallback option when a prior cycle with fresh eggs has not succeeded and cost constraints exist.

The Process
Prospective parents are matched with an experienced, proven egg donor. The clients will receive ten of her eggs, while any additional eggs will either be used fresh by other clients, or frozen for use in our Egg Bank. The resulting embryos are then cultured and implanted in the carrier using our usual protocols.

Advantages:
Egg Sharing cuts the costs of the egg donation component by almost a half, and can reduce overall costs by $15-20k over surrogacy with conventional egg donation.

Disadvantages:
There is a more limited pool of available donors from which to select, since they have to be deemed suitable to produce a large number of high-quality eggs. Also since this option only gives 10 eggs, it runs the risk of having less embryos to choose from, and less likely to result in twins, or situations in which extra embryos are available to freeze for future sibling pregnancies. Therefore down the road parents desiring more children may need to find a new donor.

Safety and Pregnancy Rates
The use of proven donors actually increases average pregnancy rates compared to cycles that use first-time donors. Otherwise, there should be no differences in pregnancy rates or risks of miscarriage or birth defect compared to conventional cycles.

CFA's Egg Bank Program

The Connecticut Fertility Associates Egg Bank can be accessed for:
• • Immediate use with egg donation and/or surrogacy
• • As a fallback option when your original donor is no longer donating, unavailable at the time when you or your carrier prefer; or when a prior cycle with fresh eggs has not succeeded and cost constraints exist.

The Process
Eggs are retrieved from experienced, proven egg donors and frozen through vitrification (rapid freeze) technology. These eggs are stored in groups of ten, in individual straws and available through our Egg Bank for use anytime in the future..

Since your egg donor’s treatment does not need to be synchronized with your carrier’s treatment cycle, this option can offer more flexibility. In other words, when you and your carrier are ready, these banked eggs can be thawed. Usually about 90% survive and are successfully fertilized through standard in vitro fertilization technique. The embryos are then cultured and implanted in the carrier using our usual protocols..

Advantages:
The use of eggs from a bank eliminates the wait and costs associated with the monitoring and synchronization of the donor with the carrier. Therefore the process is shorter and more affordable (can reduce overall costs by $20-25k over surrogacy with conventional egg donation)..

Disadvantages:
Much more limited pool of available donors from which to select – since only a small subset of donors are offered for frozen eggs. Also since this option only gives 10 eggs, it runs the risk of having less embryos to choose from, and less likely to result in twins, or situations in which extra embryos are available to freeze for future sibling pregnancies. Therefore down the road parents desiring more children may need to find a new donor.

Safety and Pregnancy Rates
There appears to be no difference between fresh and frozen eggs. Our pregnancy rates during the past year with the CFA Egg Bank has been very promising..Widespread research carried over several years has shown that pregnancies from frozen eggs or embryos do not have an increased risk of miscarriage, birth defect or any other imperfection (See the HOPE Registry information). This corresponds with our expectations, since vitrification has been shown to minimize ice crystal formation during the freezing process, and have been proven to be safe for the embryos..