How to Choose an Egg Donor: Fertility Clinic Expert Tips

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Fertility Clinic Expert on How to Choose an Egg Donor, Money Saving Tips and More

A fertility-clinic expert discusses donor selection, ovarian response, screening and cost considerations. The interview reflects professional perspectives at the time; current testing, protocols and treatment decisions should be confirmed with the treating clinic.

Your questions answered:

- How to choose an egg donor?

- Why is a donor's family tree important?

- When you choose a donor, when is it best to use a clinic and when an agency?

- Open donation - is it right for me?

- What's the best way to choose a provider for the surrogacy journey?

- Are there ways to save on the costs of the surrogacy journey?

Highlights from our interview with Xiomara Hernandez

Xiomara Hernandez, has years of experience in the industry and helped many intended parents build their families. Even though Xioamra is working for a clinic, she still gets to help many intended parents with their egg donation and surrogacy journeys from start to finish. She started working for an international fertility agency back in 2015 and that’s where she learned all the ins and outs of the industry, so Xiomara is basically a bonus that intended parents get when they work with ICRM.

“...Follicle count and the AMH level are very important to get an idea of the kind of donor they’re [intended parents] selecting if she’s never donated before…Before they end up spending 30, 40 or $50,000…to create embryos, make sure you're picking a donor that has the potential to give a good result. So if they haven't done these tests, which is normal, most people don't, then ask if it’s possible to run these tests before she [the egg donor] travels to the clinic so they can give you an idea of the potential this candidate has. You'll be better off because you’ll have more certainty and peace of mind. So I think…it's really important to understand the potential this person has before you start treatments.”

Editor’s note (August 2026): The $30,000–$50,000 figure above is a historical quote from this 2022 interview and should not be treated as a current market estimate. Donor-cycle pricing varies by provider, donor arrangement, medications, travel, legal work and laboratory services. AMH and follicle count can help estimate ovarian response but cannot guarantee egg quality, embryo development or pregnancy.