The first thing clients must address when they decide to work with eggs from an unidentified egg donor is that the Donor will not always be unidentified. In this age of DNA testing, people can and do find the people who are genetically related to them.

Providing your child with knowledge of his or her genetic background by working with an identified or known egg donor is a way to help your child access this information in a way that promotes their growth.

Working with eggs from an unidentified donor may be easier and faster because the healthcare providers Intended Parents are working with may have banks of cryopreserved eggs ready to use. Intended Parents will likely be presented with information about the donors and given a chance to receive a group of eggs from a donor of their choice. If the Intended Parent’s chosen donor’s eggs are not already banked, she will go through a cycle and have an egg retrieval for you.

Working with eggs from an identified donor may be possible through the Intended Parents’ clinic or the Intended Parents may need to find an egg donor on their own. Some people work with family members or friends. Others access an identified donor through an egg donation matching program.