The Tulip database accesses egg donor agency databases and fertility clinic in-house donor programs. Here are some pros and cons of working with an agency donor vs. a clinic program.
Agency
Pros:
- With over 70 agencies on Tulip’s platform, there are more donors available and you are more likely to find one you like.
- Agencies often provide more flexibility in matching – for example, matching for future contact, meeting your donor, or receiving more information about her.
- You can usually see pictures of donors at all ages and some even provide photos of the donor’s family.
- Agencies have larger pools, so you can more easily find donors with specific qualities.
Cons:
- Most agencies do not do any ovarian reserve testing, medical, or genetic screening until you are officially matched.
- Donors are not pre-screened psychologically until you match. They will then have a psychological evaluation with a specialist third party fertility psychologist at your cost.
- Cost may be higher – you will pay an agency fee, donor’s travel, compensation and testing costs.
Clinic
Pros:
- All donors are pre-screened medically (including genetic testing) at no cost to you.
- All donors are screened psychologically at no cost to you.
- There’s no agency fee so costs are usually lower.
- Your donor is usually local so travel costs are minimized.
Cons:
- There are fewer available donors to choose from in general.
- Smaller clinic databases mean there are fewer donors who meet your ideal criteria.
- If you do find someone you like, you will most likely have to wait your turn to do a cycle with her.
- Your turn may not come. Every woman donating eggs is free to change her mind about future cycles and she has the right not to do a donor cycle.
- Clinics offer egg donors a lower fee than agencies, which means donors may go elsewhere.
