Treatment with donors & gestational carriers
We provide caring and comprehensive services for third-party reproduction.
We provide caring and comprehensive services for third-party reproduction, working with approved sperm donation banks and gestational carrier organizations. We also maintain an active egg and embryo donation program.
We offer a variety of options for patients who wish to utilize an egg donor. While most egg donation cycles are anonymous, known donation arrangements are possible as well. Egg donors can be selected from our internal anonymous egg donor pool or through an outside egg donor agency’s pool. Patients can also choose someone they know, such as a family member or friend, to serve as an egg donor.
Thank you for your interest in the Anonymous Egg Donor Program at the Wisconsin Fertility Institute. Here is an overview of the steps involved with moving forward with a cycle with a WFI egg donor. Please let us know if you have any questions. Our staff is here to assist and guide you along the way as you work to build your family!
The first step in the process is meeting with one of our providers to see if egg donation is right for you. At this consult, your medical history will be reviewed as well as any past treatments you have used in your fertility care. At this visit, the provider will give you a list of labs that must be completed prior to starting the IVF anonymous egg donor cycle.
When you have decided that you want to move forward with an egg donor cycle, you will be given information on how to view the donor profiles online. Donors have included pictures of themselves as children for your review. To protect anonymity, we do not have adult pictures of our donors available.
All of our donors are non-smokers between the ages of 21 and 30. They have all received detailed information about the process, appointments, and responsibility required for a successful egg donor cycle. The donor profiles are comprehensive in their review of the donor’s personal, medical, and family history. All donors have been tested for their ovarian reserve with blood tests or they have donated before and are known to be quality egg donors. Our donor profiles are also screened by our medical staff prior to being included in the pool.
Once you have selected an egg donor, you must fill out the donor match form and forward it to the donor coordinator. The donor coordinator will contact the egg donor to confirm that she is available to participate in an IVF cycle. If the donor confirms that she is available, you will need to make the initial payment. Then, you and the donor will sign a legal contract outlining the rights and responsibilities of both parties. If you want to have your own legal counsel review this contract, you are free to do so.
On average, at least a dozen other patients are viewing egg donors at the same time as you. If you are interested in an egg donor, the ONLY way to secure that you will be matched with her is to fill out our donor match form and provide the first payment for the cycle. The donor match form is available on our website. The demand for egg donors is high and the number and availability of egg donors can vary widely.
During the egg donor selection process, you will be in touch with someone from our financial department to discuss cycle payment. All costs associated with the donor from the point you are matched with her onward will be applied to your account. You payment is due in two installments. The first payment (when you apply to match with a donor), will cover the legal contract, psychological evaluation, and medical screening of the donor. The second payment, which will cover the cycle costs, will be collected at the treatment plan visit. Costs for medications are additional and will be paid directly to the pharmacy.
After signing the legal contract, the donor will meet with a licensed psychologist for her psychological evaluation. The purpose of this visit is for an outside party to evaluate the donor’s suitability for egg donation in terms of her mental health.
When the donor has signed her legal contract and completed the psychological evaluation appointment, she will come in to our office for a medical screening visit. At this appointment, she will have a full physical examination, lab work, and meet with one of our providers and the donor coordinator to review the process of an egg donor cycle.
As the Intended Parent, once you have completed your required labs and the results are received here, you will need a treatment plan visit with one of our providers. At this visit, the provider will review all of your test results, the results of the donor’s testing, and discuss the exact protocol you will be following during the cycle. At this visit, your second payment is due and we will arrange your prescriptions and discuss dates and timing of the cycle.
Egg Donation FAQs – Intended Parents
If your testing was completed at the Wisconsin Fertility Institute, we will contact you when the results are in and you can come in for your treatment plan visit. If your testing was done elsewhere, call us and we can help you get the results sent or faxed to our office. Once we have received the results, you can set up your treatment plan visit.
Review ALL medications with the donor coordinator or your physician. Many medications are ok to continue, but we do want to review everything you are taking.
This can be difficult to determine. Day one is considered the first day you see flow. Spotting does not count. If you are not using a pad or tampon, then it is not day one yet. If you are unsure of timing, give us a call and we will help you figure it out!
Level of Completion
Completion of cycle up to starting injections
Completion of ovulation induction
Completion of oocyte retrieval
Completion of post-operative check up
Percentage Payment
5%
10%
55%
100%
When we call in your original prescription, we also call in several refills. Simply contact the pharmacy from where you received your original prescription and they will mail out more medications. Some pharmacies do not deliver on the weekends, so if you will need more medication on Saturday or Sunday, keep that in mind.
Please see the Medication Storage Fact Sheet in your IVF folder for a complete listing of medications and instructions.
Any medications besides the ones we are prescribing should be cleared by one of our staff. Please review all medications you take with us. Tylenol and Benadryl products are ok to use during the cycle. Ephedrine based medications should be avoided.
There is no evidence to suggest that sexual activity affects outcomes for any of your fertility treatments.
Through the Embryo Donation Program at Wisconsin Fertility Institute, we provide enhanced fertility services for our patients. The program offers both known donation and anonymous donation options. Patients may choose to donate an embryo to a family member or specific intended parent, or they may donate embryos anonymously. The caring expertise of our specialists are with you at every step of this program.
Embryo Adoption Agencies
Due to the high demand of our in-house embryo donation program, we currently have an extensive waitlist. So, we’re proud to partner with various outside agencies to accelerate our patients’ fertility journey. We invite you to explore these agencies below, and to contact us for more information.
Patients who wish to use anonymous donor sperm need to select a commercial sperm bank, order their specimens, and arrange for their payment and shipment to our laboratory. The Wisconsin Fertility Institute (WFI) will only accept and store semen specimens from sperm banks that have been accredited by the American Association of Tissue Banks (AATB) or have been licensed by the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH). Such accreditation assures us that these banks meet specific minimal standards for disease screening and semen quality.
The following is a list of commercial sperm banks that WFI has approved for patient use. There are many other sperm banks available, and you may use them as long as you can provide us with documentation that they are accredited by the AATB or are licensed by the New York State Department of Health. We must receive this documentation and approve the sperm bank before we will use the sperm. If this documentation is not provided, we can only retain your samples in our laboratory for up to 3 weeks before returning them to the sperm bank. Please be aware that this policy is for your protection and for the protection of all other WFI patients; we apologize for any inconvenience it may cause you.
Biogenetics Corp
Phone: 800-637-7776
Fax: 908-232-2114
California Cryobank, NY
Phone: 877-885-2796
Fax: 888-317-4702
California Cryobank, Inc.
Phone: 866-927-9622
Fax: 866-625-7336
Reproductive Resources, Inc.
Phone: 800-227-4561
Fax: 504-885-3932
Fairfax CryoBank
Phone: 800-466-2796
Fax: 651-489-0340
Fertility Cryobank
Phone: 323-965-7500
Fax: 323-965-0900
Xytex Corporation
Phone: 706-733-0130
Fax: 706-736-9720
New England Cryogenic Center, Inc.
Phone: 774-843-2936
Fax: 508-305-2531
NW Cryobank
Phone: 800-786-5251
Fax: 509-232-0145
Seattle Sperm Bank
Phone: 800-709-1223
Fax: 206-466-4696
The Sperm Bank of California
Phone: 510-841-1858
Fax: 510-841-0332
Make sure about the following:
Genetic Testing: If your donor has completed genetic testing, it is very important you understand the results. Every person carries two copies of most genes—one from each parent. For some genes you need two abnormal copies to be sick. A genetic carrier is an individual who has a mutation in one copy of a gene, they are known as healthy carriers. If your donor is a carrier, you need to complete genetic testing to make sure you are also not a carrier of the same genetic disease. If both sperm and egg sources are carriers for the same genetic disease, their child has a 25% chance of inheriting the condition. Examples include cystic fibrosis and spinal muscular atrophy. At the time of his donation, the sperm donor was tested for the maximum number of genes that was available. You will be tested for any gene that the donor is a known carrier for, but, neither of you will be tested for the maximum that is currently available. Please understand that there is a risk you and the donor may have a disorder that we have not tested for or are unable to test for. Please call the sperm bank or the clinical staff at Wisconsin Fertility if you have further questions.
Infectious Disease Testing: Infectious disease testing must be negative or non-reactive except for Cytomegalovirus. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a common virus for people of all ages; however, a healthy person’s immune system usually keeps the virus from causing illness. Most people with CMV infection have no symptoms and are not aware that they have been infected. About 1/3 of women who become infected with CMV for the first-time during pregnancy will pass the virus to their unborn babies. Women who had CMV before getting pregnant can also pass the virus to their unborn babies, but this is less common. When infections occur in unborn babies, CMV can cause a wide range of disabilities. If you select a donor who is CMV positive, you will need to sign a consent form. Please see the enclosed CMV Fact Sheet for more information.
When making your selection, please keep the following in mind:
- You will be ordering the washed or IUI prepared semen.
- Ask about the sperm bank’s return policy for unused specimens.
- Ask whether the sperm bank will reserve specimens for a future pregnancy.
- Sperm bank forms that require WFI provider signatures must be completed prior to insemination.
- The individual’s name on the invoice that arrives with the sperm at WFI will be the individual who the sperm will be assigned to at the clinic. Please make sure the correct name is on the invoice, as we want the correct sample going to the correct patient.
Policies and procedures are different for each sperm bank; please take the time to request and review these policies.
Shipping
When you have selected both bank and donor, you will need to arrange for shipment to the address below:
Wisconsin Fertility Institute
3146 Deming Way
Middleton Wisconsin 53562
Sperm must be shipped in a liquid nitrogen charged container designed specifically for transporting human specimens.
Delivery must take place before 3:00 PM CST Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, or Friday.
Deliveries will not be accepted on Wednesdays, Saturdays, Sundays, or holidays. Specimens need to be delivered at least one week before planned use.
Cost for storage is $400 per year. The first billing sequence begins the first day of the month after the specimen is received. Please contact WFI at 608-824-0075 if you have any questions.
Patients who are unable to carry a pregnancy to term may be interested in utilizing a gestational carrier. Carriers can be known family members or friends, or they could be selected through an agency. If you’re interested in working with a gestational carrier please let us know.
Insurance Coverage
We accept insurance from Dean and Group Health Cooperative. We also have a full-time insurance specialist on-staff to verify your coverage for you.
Financial Assistance
We have partnered with CapexMD & Future Family — to provide financial assistance to patients looking to start or grow their family. Click below to learn more.