Surrogate Mothers Online Q & A: Hi, I have been looking for an egg donor for a while now. I have always heard the average compensation is 2000-3000. But everyone I have contacted requires 5000 or more. Most want loss of wages in addition to compensation. Is that normal? I would think loss of wages would be what compensation is for, in part. Most are also asking for child care, and mileage to and from the doctors appointment before coming out here for the retrieval. I also thought that was what compensation was for. How do you know when to draw the line? It is much more expensive to go through an agency after finding fees and what not. And my clinic only pays their dodnors 2000, but there are many hidden costs. Can you offer any advice, please? Is 5000 too much to pay? Are these donors asking too much of me, or am I expecting too much for too little. I realize that they have to travel and misss nearly a week of work. That does make the situation different than the donors from the clinic who don't have far to travel. Please help, if you can! - <A HREF="mailto:eggreply@hotmail.com">Emily</A>

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Surrogate Mothers Online Q & A

Q & A: Financial Issues - Egg Donation

Topics may include compensation, covered expenses, overall costs, etc.

1. Hi, I have been looking for an egg donor for a while now. I have always heard the average compensation is 2000-3000. But everyone I have contacted requires 5000 or more. Most want loss of wages in addition to compensation. Is that normal? I would think loss of wages would be what compensation is for, in part. Most are also asking for child care, and mileage to and from the doctors appointment before coming out here for the retrieval. I also thought that was what compensation was for. How do you know when to draw the line? It is much more expensive to go through an agency after finding fees and what not. And my clinic only pays their dodnors 2000, but there are many hidden costs. Can you offer any advice, please? Is 5000 too much to pay? Are these donors asking too much of me, or am I expecting too much for too little. I realize that they have to travel and misss nearly a week of work. That does make the situation different than the donors from the clinic who don't have far to travel. Please help, if you can! - Emily - Top

Dear Emily,

The egg donor fee's tend to be a bit higher when you are going independent. The fee is usually for covering pain and for going through all of the medications,mood swings, weight gain, and the medical procedure itself. I think paying mileage is fair, as well as time off from work as these expenses would not be incurred otherwise. The key is finding out how far the potential donor would have to travel, what her childcare costs would be, and maybe use this in your contract. If her fee is 3,500 you might offer an extra 500.00 to cover the additional expenses. I think alot more women would be donors if they knew that a large chunk of the fee wasn't going to all the travel costs.

I hope this helps,

Lisa H

Emily,

Our egg donor was paid 2,000 or 2,500, but she was an anonymous donor through the RE's office. Since she lived in the area, none of the other compensation was needed. But, if you are wanting her to travel to another state for a week or longer, I would say that you SHOULD be paying her lost wages, mileage, travel, etc. The compensation an egg donor receives is not meant to replace wages, pay expenses like child care, etc. It is meant to compensate her for having to take injectible fertility drugs which have unknown long-term effects, the discomfort of swollen ovaries and retrieval, the risk of ovarian hyperstimulation and possible hospitalization, etc. If the 5000 includes all the other expenses, then no, I don't think it is too much to ask. If your doctor's office has donors who are paid 2000, why not use them if expense is a factor?

Linda P
Mom to Denver and Danielle
via Gestational Surrogacy and Donor Egg - Updated: February 13, 2000
Topics may include compensation, covered expenses, overall costs, etc.

1. Hi, I have been looking for an egg donor for a while now. I have always heard the average compensation is 2000-3000. But everyone I have contacted requires 5000 or more. Most want loss of wages in addition to compensation. Is that normal? I would think loss of wages would be what compensation is for, in part. Most are also asking for child care, and mileage to and from the doctors appointment before coming out here for the retrieval. I also thought that was what compensation was for. How do you know when to draw the line? It is much more expensive to go through an agency after finding fees and what not. And my clinic only pays their dodnors 2000, but there are many hidden costs. Can you offer any advice, please? Is 5000 too much to pay? Are these donors asking too much of me, or am I expecting too much for too little. I realize that they have to travel and misss nearly a week of work. That does make the situation different than the donors from the clinic who don't have far to travel. Please help, if you can! - Emily - Top: Dear Emily,

The egg donor fee's tend to be a bit higher when you are going independent. The fee is usually for covering pain and for going through all of the medications,mood swings, weight gain, and the medical procedure itself. I think paying mileage is fair, as well as time off from work as these expenses would not be incurred otherwise. The key is finding out how far the potential donor would have to travel, what her childcare costs would be, and maybe use this in your contract. If her fee is 3,500 you might offer an extra 500.00 to cover the additional expenses. I think alot more women would be donors if they knew that a large chunk of the fee wasn't going to all the travel costs.

I hope this helps,

Lisa H

Emily,

Our egg donor was paid 2,000 or 2,500, but she was an anonymous donor through the RE's office. Since she lived in the area, none of the other compensation was needed. But, if you are wanting her to travel to another state for a week or longer, I would say that you SHOULD be paying her lost wages, mileage, travel, etc. The compensation an egg donor receives is not meant to replace wages, pay expenses like child care, etc. It is meant to compensate her for having to take injectible fertility drugs which have unknown long-term effects, the discomfort of swollen ovaries and retrieval, the risk of ovarian hyperstimulation and possible hospitalization, etc. If the 5000 includes all the other expenses, then no, I don't think it is too much to ask. If your doctor's office has donors who are paid 2000, why not use them if expense is a factor?

Linda P
Mom to Denver and Danielle
via Gestational Surrogacy and Donor Egg - Updated: February 13, 2000

Unless stated otherwise, all responses in the SMO Q&A are courtesy of one or more of the following hosts:

Sherry - Experienced gestational surrogate currently working on her 2nd surrogacy arrangement

Linda - New Mommy to twins born via gestational surrogacy and egg donation

Jennifer S. - Experienced AI surrogate

Lynn - New Mommy to a daughter born via traditional surrogacy

Tracie - 5 time egg donor (triplets, 2 sets of twins and 2 singletons) and 3 time surrogate (2-AI, 1-IVF).

Lisa - Experienced egg donor and previous gestational surrogate currently working on her 2nd surrogacy arrangement (Lisa was our former ED host, prior to July 1999.)
Disclaimer: Responses from SMO Q&A Hosts do not necessarily represent the opinions and ideas of SMO. Neither the Q&A hosts nor SMO guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information contained in the responses given here. As such, neither SMO nor the Q&A hosts are responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of such information. Neither SMO nor the Q&A hosts shall be liable or responsible to any person or entity for any loss or damage caused, or alleged to have been caused, directly or indirectly by the information or ideas contained, suggested, or referenced in these responses.

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