Egg Donor Screening

Several years ago I attended a conference about legal issues in reproduction. It was a great meeting and a lot of very interesting topics were addressed. At that meeting the following cartoon was presented.

Clearly, there are different ways to screen your donors. However, the FDA has now become involved in egg donation to ensure that no diseases are transmitted through the process. Fortunately, even before the FDA became involved there had never been a case of transmission of an infectious disease from egg donor to recipient.

Psychological screening is where most donors fail the process in our clinic. These young women may sometimes have a lot of issues that give pause when considering using them as a donor. The Hippocratic Oath stipulates a key rule in medicine: Primum Non Nocere—Above All, Do No Harm! So when screening donors this must be kept in mind. In our clinic we will not use donors on anti-depressants or those with a history of sexual abuse.

So how about those screening tests? Well, that is the “Question of the Day.”

84. What screening tests are performed on donors?

Both the ASRM and the FDA have issued clear screening guidelines and regulations for egg and sperm donors; the guidelines are available on these organizations’ respective websites. A typical evaluation involves a comprehensive history of the donor’s health and his or her family. A physical examination and comprehensive laboratory screening tests for communicable diseases are also performed. Many centers add genetic testing of the donors. A psychological assessment of all ova donors is routinely performed. Although the anonymous donor’s anonymity is preserved, the results of his or her laboratory tests, psychological profile, physical characteristics, and historical information are shared with the infertile couple. This information allows couples to carefully choose their donor and provides a certain level of comfort in knowing that proper screening was performed. Some clinics provide adult photos of their donors, but in our practice we have limited photos to those from childhood to preserve the donors’ anonymity.