Is this a fair donor fee?

[kiana]

I'm new to this board and am just embarking on a DE cycle. I was quoted a fee of $7750 for a donor fee. This is through an agency that was started by the clinic I'm going to. The clinic no longer has a pool of donors, you have to go through their agency or find one on your own. Is this a fair fee for a donor? I need a fairly rare type of ethnicity so I want to know if this is the going rate for hard-to-find donors.

Thank you for your responses,
-k

[BC-MAV]

Is this for sperm or egg donor? That makes a difference because egg donors have to take meds for 2 weeks and undergo a procedure with sedation and men can donate whenever without any meds or procedures. If you want to find out if it's fair call around to other clinics and agencies and ask them their price and what you get for your $. The $ may depend on the size of the pool of donors too.

[BC-MAV]

Ok, I just saw DE, so you are referring to donor egg. What does that fee include? IVF is several thousand so what does that $750 get you?

[m(or)]

It sounds like a finders fee for the agency, not what the donor would get as compensation. Our clinic had a pool of donors. I don't even remember if there was a fee for finding a donor. We did pay $5000.00 to compensate the donor. Plus we had to buy all her meds and pay for all the procedures. Marieke

[BC-KarenS-MI]

Oh my good heavens!! $7750 for the donor's compensation??? Sorry, but I think that's way too much. Our donors have received $2,000. Since you're looking at using an agency, I would look around to see if another agency might not be so interested in ripping you off. I'm sorry, but this type of thing really irks me. As you can guess by my reaction, I think that's way too much & if it were me, I'd keep looking. Good luck!

Karen

[hbby]

That is a little high for a donor's fee. We also used an agency and our donor fee was around $4,000. The total fee for the agency (insurance, donor's lawyer, counseling, etc) was $7,500 excluding meds and travel expenses. Although, I do know that the price increases if the donor is proven or if they have to do a very specific search. A proven donor at the agency we used increases the cost by $1,000. If she has donated before they should tell you if her previous cycle resulted in a pg. Best of luck!

[flicka7]

Our donor agency charged $9,000 which included $5,000 for the donor. On top of the $9K, we paid for all the meds, the IVF cycle and the donors initial consultation with my RE.

So, basically the $9K was the donor compensation and the agency fee for psych testing etc.

Donor fees do vary by where in the country you are located. Generally, donor fees in the middle of the country (where Karen and I are located-MI and KY) are often lower than donor fees on the coasts (like CA and FL). I paid $2,000 for my donor fee too, but she was unproven. I think it is quite common for donor compensation to be in the $5,000 range in CA and FL. So if you are in that area and looking for a proven donor with a rare type of ethnicity, $7,750 might not be that high.

That said, it sure doesn't hurt to shop around!

Diana

[HelpingHand]

I know this post is old, but (providing she is just speaking of the donors comp.) absolutely this is within normal range. Especially if you are requiring special charachteristics of some kind. Donors receive 8k now in NYC............ I am working on my 3rd cycle now and have raised my fee from what it was my first two cycles. Do I think my new recipients are going to "get more out of me" then my first two sets, NO probably not, BUT the health risk DO increase with each subsequent donation. Not only that but my new IP's can rest assured knowing that I have NEVER and would never back out of a cycle. They KNOW how I respond to the fertility meds (and that I DO), and they know that both my previous donations resulted in pregnancy................ I also have a match for my Next donation and yes, my comp. went up another 1k.

[Laenae]

Depends how many times the donor has previously donated. My donor was from an agency out in Oregon and I live in the NYC area. My Clinic has donors in their pool, but they don't let you see pictures of their donors. It was important to me that I get to see what my donor looks like. Although I was not able to find someone with my heritage, I was able to find somone close to what I look like. In my case, my donor was 22 and I was her 5th donation. Out of the 5 donations, 4 of them were successful. My donor fee was $12,000 just for the donor alone. There are some agencies that will advertise for what you are looking for, but that of course costs more money I would think. As I am 44 and we waited a year to cycle because our first donor was cancelled due to being a carrier for Tay Sachs disease and our current donor was already scheduled for her 4th donation at the time we just didn't want to wait any longer to try to find someone with our ethnic background.

Good luck in your endeavor to complete your family.