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Why Should You Work With An Ovum Donation Agency?

April 17, 2007 - Tuesday
12:46 PM to (EST)
Guest Speakers: Amy Demma, JD
Prospective Families

Categories
Adoption • Donor Egg • Egg Donation • Third Party Reproduction


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brockton Hi Amy, this is Donna
prospectivefamilies Hi Donna
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prospectivefamilies Hi Corey, welcome
Corey_Whelan Welcome everyone to tonight's chat! I am your chat moderator and The AFA's Director of Development - Corey Whelan.
Corey_Whelan I would like to introduce you to tonight's speaker (who is here already), Amy Demma. Hi Amy!
prospectivefamilies Hi Corey and friends---glad to be here and looking forward to our discussion this evening
Corey_Whelan I'm having some computert issues,
Corey_Whelan ok, I think it's ok now
Corey_Whelan sorry about that folks. Please let me tell you about Amy Damma. Amy is the founder and President
Corey_Whelan of Prospective Families.
Corey_Whelan She is an expert on all issues concerning third party reproduction, and a NYS licensed attorney
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Corey_Whelan welcome to our early birds. Since Amy is here, please feel free to post your questions. Amy will be talking specifically about ovum donation agencies and their potential role in your treatment options.
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prospectivefamilies Thank you, Corey, for that nice introduction. I am looking forward to discussing this issue and those related
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Caitlin Hi Amy, I have a question. Is it less expensive or faster to use an outside agency for my donor instead of using my IVF program for that? I am still doing IVF but am considering moving onto donor. My program is based in New Jersey and there is a bit of a wait, plus it really is expensive to do donor egg - we have the option of sharing the cost with another couple. If we use an outside agency, how does that work? And also does the IVF program tend to get resentful? I don't want to upset the boat!
prospectivefamilies Hi Caitlin,
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prospectivefamilies I have always counseled that the best case scenario is to use a donor who has already been screened and accepted by your IVF clinic...you minimize the risk of the donor not making it all the way through to meds start if your clinic has an already existing relationship with her and you know that the RE, nurses and mental health professionals at YOUR clinic think she is an appropriate donor candidate.
prospectivefamilies Caitlin,
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Mandy Hi Amy. Is it hard to find an hispanic donor?
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prospectivefamilies The wait list at IVF clinics can be very long and often the donor options are minimal so, if you are looking for efficiency as well as a broader donor pool, agencies often offer those benefits.
Corey_Whelan Amy, I am wondering about licensing. Can anyone in any state use any agency or does the agency have to be licensed in the particular state that the potential parent(s) reside in?
prospectivefamilies Mandy, It should not be hard for you to find the unique ethnicity you are searching for if you are working with an agency with comprehensive recruitment efforts. I do caution against self-advertising, however, it is costly and can yeild many responses, few of which are likely to be qualified.
prospectivefamilies Corey,
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nlaurente Hi Amy, we're just getting started on this process, where do you suggest we start?
prospectivefamilies The only licensing requirements for egg donation agencies are w/respect to those agencies doing business (that is, running cycles) in New York. The New York Dep't of Health does issue a license based on an agency meeting it's criteria for document retention. There are no other licensing options, to my knowledge, in the country.
Corey_Whelan Hi Dee Dee and everyone else. Please feel free to post your questions for Amy Demma of Prospective Families, based in Boston
Corey_Whelan Thanks Amy
Corey_Whelan I think nlaurente is next
Dee_Dee Do you know if the guidelines in California that would be different to the other states for the agencies?
prospectivefamilies Laurente, Your clinic's donor egg team should be able to provide you with a list of agencies that they regularly work with. Beyond that, there are a few great websites where potential Recipient Parents can exchange experiences and offer support. www.surromomsonline.com (despite the name) has such resources on egg donation agencies.
prospectivefamilies Dee Dee, As stated in my reply to Corey, to my knowledge on New York State has any regulatory efforts regarding egg donation agencies doing business in that state.
Dee_Dee thanks
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prospectivefamilies Caitlin, An agency will charge you a fee, typically b/w 3,500 and 5,000 for their services, this fee is saved if you cycle with a clinic donor...most clinics do not have extensive (or for that matter any) donor pool and so, Recipients partner with agencies for donor selection as well as counsel., guidance, support and service from match thru to retrieval/transfer and sometimes beyond.
nlaurente Please elaborate on legal rights of donors on children born of ovum donation.
Dolores Amy, this may be an unfair question, but I am trying to decide as a single woman which route to go in - donor egg or adoption. What do you see as the pros and cons?
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Corey_Whelan guys, Amy will be one of the exhibitors at Family Matters, the AFA's patient education conference on Sunday April 29th in NYC. If you haven't registered yet, please check out the workshop schedule on the AFA homepage - it's an amazing day.
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Dee_Dee Is there a limit to how many times a donor can donate? That is, is there a potential for many half siblings from a donor?
prospectivefamilies Laurente, It is imperitive that you retain the legal counsel of an attorney who is experienced in third-party reproduction. (AFA can help with this). Your attny will draft language in that contract b/w you and the egg donor that will clearly state that the donor relinquishes ALL rights to the eggs, embryos and/or any/all children resulting from the cycle. Be sure that you are working with an attny experienced in this very unique area of law and you should feel protected
prospectivefamilies Dolores,
nlaurente Thanks Amy.
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prospectivefamilies This is a question that I receive regularly and often refer to my colleague Liz Falker for counsel. Liz is a NY attny who has written two books on Infertility, one which focuses on adoption. Her general counsel is that any prospective parents should consider tha the national average for success in egg donation is about 50% with many of the North East clinics reporting success rates much higher. I believe that, generally, Liz encourages folks to give egg donation good consideration.
nlaurente Amy, a follow thru on my question earlier about legalities...when working with an agency, would atty service be included?
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prospectivefamilies Dee Dee, The American Society of Reproductive Medicine states in it's Guidelines on Egg Donation that a donor should not cycle more than 6 times. Please know that there is currently no mechanism in place whereby clinicians or any other professional can track a donor's cycle activity so, you must be sure that you are working with an agency that has done a dligent job in pre-screening donors...many agencies will just accept a donor's application w/out doing much checking on information provided in the Donor Profile. You should interview, vigorously, an agency before deciding to do business with them.
IP_Matcher Is there ever a time when the donor's insurance might cover some of the medical expenses or fees? If so, how do we find these donors?
prospectivefamilies Laurente, Some agencies have attnys on staff and do provide in-house legal services. It is my personal perspective that such legal counsel has the potential of becoming compromised because the agency also has a relationship with the donor (and a financial interest in the donor being accepted by you). Because of this potential conflict of interest and despite my law credentials, I outsource all of the legal counsel offered to both the Recipient as well as the donor
brockton Amy, when we are looking for our "perfect donor", what are the things that we should really focus on that are the most important
nlaurente makes a lot of sense, thanks Amy!
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prospectivefamilies IP Matcher: Unfortunately, since your infertility is not something the donor's medical insurance is obligated to cover (remember you selected her b/c she is healthy and fertile, presumably). A donor candidate must present with a current PAP and Physical Exam (w/in a year) and the expenses related to that should be covered by her insurance
Corey_Whelan welcome elenacordero! Please feel free to post your questions for Amy Demma
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Dee_Dee To dovetail on IP Matcher's question .... Is there any history/track record as to how many donors need medical monitary ($) assistance from the intended parents due to egg stimulation difficulties? I understand that some agencies want the intended parents to cover any medical issues for three months after egg stimulation.
prospectivefamilies Brockton: Clinicians (REs, nurses, mental health providers) regularly tell me that the top criteria in donor selection should be those factors that are most likely to lead you to a successful cycle...that is, a pregnancy. We counsel our clients to focus on medical history, genetic history, cycle or fertility history and lifestyle (does she practice risky behavior such that she might screen-out for infectious diseases).
nlaurente For starters, what are the usual characteristics/qualities/services/practices of a good ovum donation agency? (what would a novice look for?)
prospectivefamilies Dee Dee: Recipient Parents are required to purchase medical insurance for the donor which would cover the donor for any injury related to the cycle (including injuries suffered while travelling on be half of the Recipient). The coverage provided is pretty extensive and the cost to the recipients is relatively minimal (less that $200, I believe). This coverage runs for up to 90 days post retrieval and, again, is required.
Dee_Dee thanks
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prospectivefamilies Laurente: When interviewing an agency you should first ask what the pre-screening process is for donor candidates. You should inquire about the donor pool, is every donor that may be available for your consideration actually available to cycle with you, tomorrow (many agencies will present a donor who is already committed to another couple (or more than one)...you should never get on the waiting list for a donor to finish up w/other couples and any agency that has this practice should have a good explanation of why they do. Also, you should inquire about quality of donors...do not be impressed, necessarily with quantity of donors. Lastly, be sure to understand the agency's policies if the donor you have selected is declined by your clinic or otherwise cannot complete your cycle.
Dee_Dee What are the pros & cons of meeting one's anonyomous (sp?) donor prior to egg retrieval?
Corey_Whelan You bring up an interesting point, Dee Dee.
nlaurente thank you for the insights
Corey_Whelan Amy, do you think that anonymity will be the norm for donors going forward or do you think third party repro will become more open, like adoption. I get asked this alot from afa members
IP_Matcher Why is it that donor standards vary per clinic? I mean, my clinic might not take a donor who has already cycled at another. Can an agency help cut through the confusion?
prospectivefamilies Dee Dee: the most significant concern you should have regarding meeting your donor is whether or not your clinic would then regard your match/cycle as a "known" donation which requires significantly different mental health screening and may also impact the language of your egg donation agreement. A good agency should offer you options for "connecting" with your donor via e-mail and/or phone calls that the agency facilitates (this allows the parties to maintain anonymity) that should be satisfactory and will not have you run the risk of your clinic qualifying your match as "known".
prospectivefamilies Corey,
Dee_Dee So even just meeting the donor at a restaurant, would put one in the "known" screening. Wow I didn't know that.
prospectivefamilies I meet more and more donors who are willing to have 'contact' with the Recipients, as I described above and some who are comfortable with a first name exchange but very very few who are willing to go from not knowing the Recipients to becoming a "known" donor...that is doing an "open" donation. A good agency shoudl provide opptny for cont'd contact b/w the parties even after the cycle is complete so, we can meet the objective of contact when/if desired/necessary without an exchange of identifying/contact information.
Dee_Dee Got you. Thanks for the additional clarification.
prospectivefamilies IP Matcher: I agree that, in my experience, clinics do have differed criteria on which donor candidates they will accept into their programs and I suppose this is based on philosophy as well as perspective on controversial clinical matters (some clinics still feel that BMI is an indicator of response to the stim meds...that is, a donor with a very high or very low BMI may not respond the same way as a donor whose BMI is w/in normal limits). I have not heard of a clinic who will decline a donor simply b/c she has cycled at another clinic..
prospectivefamilies Dee Dee: Please connect with the mental health folks at your clinic, this may or may not be the case but it is something you should have a clear understanding on before deciding on how much contact you will have with the donor
prospectivefamilies IP Matcher: An agency should certainly have a current understanding of what your clinic's criteria are for donor acceptance. I meet, regularly, with each clinic I coordinate cycles at and always with the objective of understanding what that clinic's ideal donor presents as. Yes, your agency certainly should "cut through the confusion" for you...that is what you are paying for.
Dee_Dee If a donor agency closes up shop, how hard will it be for the parents to contact the donor if there is a medical need for the child? Are there any tips that the intended parents should think about now to help 20 years down the road?
prospectivefamilies Regarding Donor Database perusal: be sure to inquire of an agency, if, when going thru their database (Itypically for a fee) there is any way of understanding which of the donors are most likely to be accepted by your clinic and which are likely to be declined...you do not want to make a donor selection that is inconsistent with your clinic requirements and the agency should be partnering with you to avoid making that mistake
Corey_Whelan folks, we only have about ten more minutes so please don't wait to post your questions. And don't forget to come meet Amy at the Family Matters conference on April 29th in NYC at the Grand Hyatt.
prospectivefamilies Dee Dee: If you are working with an agency that holds a NY License, then that agency is compelled, under that license, to retain records of your cycle for 25 years if there is a pregnancy and 7 years if there is not. You should inquire and have stated clearly in your contract with the agency what mechanisms they have in place for record retention. Also, your clinic is mandated to retain the cycle records as well....but, the agency still should be providing this service for you.
Dee_Dee thanks
nlaurente Amy, with your experience, can you give me a range of the normal atty fees for contracts bet. donor and recipient?
thirdpartycoordinator How can agencies know that a donor hasn't donated more than 6 times when they move around from agency to agency and some donors don't stop donating even when the MD tells them to?
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prospectivefamilies I hppe I have satisfactorily answered your many thoughtful and appropriate questions...it is very odd, I think, to have to wrap your arms around the "business" of third-party reproduction and you should feel a partnership with your agency to help you transition out of IVF to egg donation...really, you are entitled to feel like the agency has joined your fertility team and, in exchange for the agency fee, you should be able to remain focused on family building and have the agency take care of all of these practical matters.
prospectivefamilies Laurente: I can only speak to the fees of the several attnys to whom I regularly refer clients. In my experience, the Recipient Parent attny can charge anywhere from $750 to approx $1200 dollars and the donor attny will bill the Recipients that I work with anywhere from $250 -$400...I am sure these fees vary from region to region...
IP_Matcher You have been extremely helpful. Do you have any advice about how to find a good, quality agency? Are there key things we should look for and red flags to be aware of?
prospectivefamilies IP Matcher: As stated before, there are no processes by which donor activity is matches so, an agency should offer you confidence that it did it's best to pre-screen any Donor Profile
nlaurente Thanks to Amy and AFA for the very informative session!
Corey_Whelan folks, I want to thank you all so much for being here tonight and for asking such educated questions. And thanks especially to Amy Demma for her insight and expertise!
prospectivefamilies IP Matcher: I think I may have already answered that one, perhaps before your joined...bottom line...ask your Donor Egg nurse!
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prospectivefamilies Thanks all for this opptny to dialogue with you...it has been my pleasure and I hope that I was helpful!!
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Corey_Whelan Tonight's online chat is officially coming to an end. Thanks again to you all!!
Corey_Whelan good night all
Dee_Dee Thanks so much for your insight!!
prospectivefamilies Good night!
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Cal when will the transcript be available? I am gettting here late.
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IP_Matcher Thank you so much for your time and information.
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Cal Many thanks --- looks like it was a thorough discussion. Good evening from California.
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