Egg Donation

If you are struggling with natural conception and looking for options to help you grow your family, you are not alone.

Our board-certified endocrinologists can help make your dreams of parenthood a reality through egg donation.

Find out if egg donation at the Los Angeles Reproductive Center in Bakersfield and Encino, CA, is the right choice to help you reach your goals.

What Is Egg Donation?

Egg donation is a highly successful form of fertility treatment in which an egg (oocyte) is obtained from a selected donor, fertilized in a laboratory with sperm from the male patient or sperm donor, then transferred into the intended mother’s or gestational surrogate’s uterus. A wide variety of our patients in Encino, the greater Los Angeles, and Bakersfield, CA, regions can benefit from the egg donation process, including single men, single women, and couples.

Compassionate Care for All Request a Consultation With Our Fertility Specialists

Egg donation for single individuals and couples is a common practice at the Los Angeles Reproductive Center. Our agency is proud to assist all kinds of families and believes that everyone has an equal right to parenthood. Drs. Marc Kalan and Nurit Winkler have dedicated their lives to helping patients navigate the complicated process of fertility and can guide you through this emotional and exciting time. 

Our reproductive centers in Encino and Bakersfield, CA, are judgment-free zones where anyone can access the knowledgeable and compassionate care they're looking for. You can request a consultation by sending us a message online or calling:

Two doctors in conversation in hallway
"Thank you to Dr. Kalan, Dr. Winkler, and Nurse Kimberly for your expertise, care, and kindness. I’m blessed to be expecting a baby boy next year in 2024. Thanks again for all that you do Robyn E.

Selecting an Egg Donor

While it is possible to find almost any characteristic in an egg donor, it is difficult to find everything you want in a single person. It is important to consider each egg donor as a whole person and not focus on any one trait or characteristic. There are many factors that our patients in Encino, the greater Los Angeles, and Bakersfield, CA, areas need to consider during their search, including: 

Anonymity

One of the first and most complicated decisions is choosing whether to select an egg donor you know personally or a donor who remains anonymous.

Background

For some prospective parents, it is important to find a donor with a similar ethnic, religious, or cultural background.

Physical Attributes

You may be looking for certain traits or abilities in your donor, such as physical appearance, athleticism, IQ, artistic talent, or resemblance to your own genetic traits. 

Medical History

Our agency will thoroughly evaluate the medical history of each potential egg donor, as well as that of their immediate family. 

Personality

It is common for prospective parents to seek a donor with similar personality traits as their own.

How are Egg Donors Evaluated?

Medical Evaluation

a doctor filling out paperwork

Egg donors are medically evaluated to determine if they are healthy enough and if they are a viable candidate for egg donation. Egg donors are screened for diseases and potential issues that may be passed to any offspring.

Family History

a person examining a DNA sequence

Obtaining the family history of potential egg donors is an important step to determine if there may be potential risks of issues such as diseases or genetic issues. This helps us ensure a higher chance of a healthy baby. 

Psychological Evaluation

a woman in therapy

Psychological screening is important to determine if the donor understands the process and if they are mentally fit enough for egg donation. This is an important step to guard against complications down the road

Egg Donation Is More Successful
Than You Might Think...

The chances of fertilized donor eggs producing viable embryos is about 80%.

*According The Donor Solution

While each stage of the process comes with different success rates, our agency will do everything possible to increase your chances of having a child. 

The Egg Donation Process

Take a look at the steps involved for egg donor recipients at our fertility agency in Bakersfield and Encino, CA.
While each stage of the process comes with different success rates, our agency will do everything possible to increase your chances of having a child. 
While each stage of the process comes with different success rates, our agency will do everything possible to increase your chances of having a child. 

Screenings

For heterosexual couples, we begin by preparing for your cycle with screenings to identify any abnormalities that may interfere with fertilization or implantation. Same-sex couples and single men will begin by selecting a gestational surrogate who will undergo the same process to prepare for the cycle. 

Egg Donor/Surrogate Selection

Once you have selected an egg donor, the female partner or gestational surrogate will undergo hormone treatment to synchronize their ovulation cycles. The egg donor will take medication to stimulate her ovaries to produce multiple eggs for retrieval. At the same time, the female partner or surrogate will take medications to prepare her uterus for embryo transfer. 

Egg Retrieval

During a minor procedure called transvaginal ovarian aspiration (also known as egg retrieval), the doctor will remove the eggs from the donor’s ovaries. We will insert an ultrasound probe into the vagina and use a very small needle to extract eggs from each follicle.

IVF

On the day of the egg retrieval, the male partner will provide sperm, which will be used to fertilize the eggs. IVF (in vitro fertilization) is the process of combining the sperm and donor eggs in the lab to create fertilized embryos. The embryos will remain in the lab until the day of transfer, typically about five days later. 

Embryo Transfer

Similar to traditional IVF, the embryos are placed into a catheter and transferred into the uterus of the recipient under ultrasound guidance. In about nine to 14 days, a pregnancy test can confirm the success of treatment. 
"Both doctors we saw and all the staff were very professional, lovely to interact with and we felt like they cared for us during the whole process.  We were luckily to find such a wonderful clinic and blessed with two beautiful children. Thank you so much."
Andrew H.

Ready to Get Started? Request a Consultation at Our Fertility Clinic Today

At the Los Angeles Reproductive Center, we understand there are a variety of reasons why a patient may be unable to use their own egg. Egg donors allow patients greater flexibility in the IVF process and make IVF possible for patients who cannot use their own egg, as well as for same-sex couples or single parents who want to achieve their dreams of growing their families.

We are dedicated to helping our patients begin and expand their families. We combine advanced technology, intensive training, and deep compassion to help you successfully conceive and deliver a healthy baby. If you are ready to start your journey in growing your family through egg donation, or if you wish to discuss using an egg donor, contact our fertility center by using our online form, or call us to request a consultation.

office interior

Keeping Your Treatment Affordable

office interior

Using a donor can increase the cost of your fertility treatments. Each IVF cycle will differ by patient due to their unique needs. Once your doctor develops a treatment plan, we can better determine what your IVF costs will be when using a donor. 

Our fertility clinic wants to make the dream of starting or expanding a family possible for all our patients, so we offer in-house payment options and accept most insurance providers. We'll be happy to help you navigate your coverage in order to maximize your benefits. 

"I can't complain about Dr Kalan. He was very sweet, responsive, knowledgeable, and caring about his work and his patients. If there was a problem he wanted to be thorough and would talk to you about any additional testing he recommended to be done. He spoke in ways that helped me understand things. He even gave me a call after my baby was born to see how we were doing. 100% i recommend Dr Kalan. its because of him i have my beautiful rainbow baby! Thank you Dr Kalan for helping us on our journey to parenthood!! You truly are a blessing!!" Melie S.

Frequently Asked Questions About Egg Donation

Will I be my baby's legal parent if I use a donor?

California is considered an assisted reproduction-friendly state. For example, in California, there are laws in place meant to protect parents having a child through assisted reproduction even if they are not married, or if one of the potential parents will not be biologically related to the child. In the eyes of the law, you will be considered the legal parent of a child conceived from an egg donor as long as you use a licensed doctor or clinic.

Will the egg donor be a legal parent?

Your donor will have no parental rights to any child conceived during the process. Contracts will be signed during screening before the donation is made. All legalities and contracts will be discussed before your treatment begins at our Encino clinic to ensure you are legally protected and understand your rights.

Will a baby conceived using a donor egg look like me?

Because your baby will be conceived using a donor, it will not look like you in the way a biological child may. However, during the screening process, you can choose a donor with physical traits similar to yours to increase the odds that the child will resemble you.

If you choose a family member as your egg donor, you can also increase the odds that the baby will have some similar characteristics. It is important to remember that there is no guarantee of resemblance even if you choose a donor with particular traits, such as hair color, eye color, height, and more. 

Can I meet my egg donor before deciding?

This depends entirely on individual agency policies and the individual egg donor. Some women who donate their eggs prefer to remain anonymous, and some agencies have policies that prohibit the egg donor from meeting the couple.

If it is important for you to know your egg donor, choosing a family member or friend may be a good option, but it is best to communicate this desire at the beginning of the process.  

If my insurance covers fertility treatment, will it cover egg donors?

This depends on the insurance plan and provider. In most cases, the cost of donor eggs is not covered by insurance. We will verify your coverage and work with you to help make your treatments as affordable and accessible as possible. 

"Dr. Kalan is amazing and supportive."
Ellie M.
Los Angeles Reproductive Center office

Los Angeles Reproductive Center

Los Angeles Reproductive Center is a state-of-the-art fertility center offering the latest fertility testing and treatment options. Our fertility specialists, Dr. Nurit Winkler and Dr. Marc Kalan, are double board-certified doctors who have been widely recognized for their contributions to reproductive medicine. 

To help all patients achieve their dreams of parenthood, our doctors offer:

  • Compassionate care
  • Flexible payment options
  • Two conveniently located offices

Schedule a consultation online or call us at (818) 946-8051 to learn more about our fertility treatments.

Reach Out To Us Today

Los Angeles Reproductive Center is a unique fertility clinic focused on treating patients like family and built upon the principles of communication, compassion, warmth, openness, and service that accompanies an exceptional pregnancy rate. Contact us today to schedule an appointment.

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