The Matching Process

Welcome to Beverly Hills Egg Donation. Our goal is to ensure that you have a safe, satisfying and successful experience. Our process begins online and then is custom tailored to suit your needs and comfort level (our “consultative approach”).

After reviewing our information thoroughly, take a few minutes to register online. Once your registration has been received and your contact information confirmed, you will receive an email from us notifying us that you have been "approved" and have access to our complete database.

Your Account
As a BHED Recipient you will have your own online account that enables you to keep a list of the donors you are considering and organize the list by your level of interest in the donor. While you are searching donors, you can make notes, rank donors, or ask any questions you wish -- all from your account. BHED staff can also post information for you alerting you to new donors that might fit your criteria.

Once You Have Found Your Donor
When you have found your donor, your coordinator will contact the donor to confirm that she is available on your time frame. Once we have her confirmation, you will be sent a packet of information via email, that includes your contract with BHED to sign and return to us via email or FAX, a confirmation of your donor's fee, and a credit card authorization form.

Once we've received your signed contract and processed your agency fee, you will be contacted by Ellie Klein, our cycle coordinator, who will become your day-to-day contact throughout the process. Ellie will forward your donor's information to your doctor and she will ensure that the psychological and genetic screenings are scheduled in a timely manner.

Your donor will then begin going through various screenings, including the following. (*Psych and genetic screening might not be needed for repeat donors.)

• Psychological screening is a one to two hour face-to-face process including a test (PAI) along with a personal interview to assess the donor’s motives and suitability for donating. At the interview, the psychologist will try to:
  
  
  1. Rule out any personal or family history of substance abuse/mental illness.
  2. Rule out any obvious psychological distress which could interfere with the donor's ability to comprehend or follow through with her commitment.
  3. Surface any questions or concerns.
  4. Provide a little "color" in terms of giving a sense of the donor's family history and relationships.
  5. Understand and describe their motivation for becoming an egg donor.
  6. Find out some information about their support system to get a sense if they are proceeding with the egg donation with the knowledge and/or support of meaningful people in their lives.
  7. Get some sense of how they are thinking/feeling about the meaning of their genetic material possibly creating a baby.
  The psychologist's report is available to you upon request.
• Genetic screening includes a comprehensive interview with a leading genetic counselor to determine what specific testing may be warranted, based on your donor's genetic and health history (if any).  The geneticist will make their recommendations and you then have the ability to decide with your doctor how you will proceed.
• Medical screening is performed by your doctor and consists of the doctor taking the donor’s medical history, doing blood work, a pelvic exam, and often an ultrasound as well.

Either before or after the donor’s screening, you will choose your attorney and the donor will select their attorney. (As with all aspects of the process, we will assist you in finding suitable counsel, if you wish.) Working with your attorney, a contract will be drafted and signed by both you and the donor. This legal process should take on average 1-2 weeks.

Your medical cycle begins after we have received clearance from the psychologist, genetic counselor, your physician, and both attorneys.