Dear Special Someone:

 

Special Someones are what we call our egg donors.  Why?  Because they are the special people who enable our Loving Couples’ dreams to come true, that is, their dreams of building a family.  Why do they need your help?  Because either they cannot or should not conceive due to medical or genetic problems or their age.

 

You are receiving this detailed explanation because you have expressed an interest in becoming one of our Special Someones and because becoming an egg donor is a very important decision.  On behalf of all our Loving Couples, thank you very very much for considering becoming an egg donor regardless of your ultimate decision.  Of course, we hope you will decide to become one of our very Special Someones and help change the lives of a Loving Couple who need YOU.  But even if you decide not to donate (and we respect your decision), we encourage you to read this information packet and become more knowledgeable about the process.  You might still be able to help Loving Couples realize their dreams by explaining the opportunity that awaits another prospective egg donors by becoming one of our Special Someones!!

 

 

Listen to what other Special Someones your age are saying:   "This is the most noble thing I have ever done in my life"   "I really learned a lot about myself, that there are things bigger than me and my desires"   "I actually was able to make someone's dream come true"   “Trading my eggs for money for my education… I think it is a win/win situation”   "I am so proud, what a sense of satisfaction"   “My contribution was truly a ‘gift of life!’”

 

 

 

Please note that your decision to become an egg donor, to become one of our Special Someones, will not in any way prevent or hinder your ability to immediately become pregnant yourself!  Also, you do not have to be a U.S. citizen or resident and your compensation will not violate the terms of any United States immigration visa.

 

 

 

 

Why donate?

 

The fact is that many Loving Couples can not or should not get pregnant with their own eggs.  Some of the reasons for that are age, illness or to prevent a genetic trait for being passed on to their offspring.  In those cases, the Loving Couple must rely on YOU, our Special Someone to become pregnant.  In other words, many recipient couples are depending on your compassion and generosity in order to build a family.  In fact, a close friend or family member, or even YOU, may some day rely upon an egg donor to become pregnant.

 

In addition, there are substantial rewards for someone who makes this sacrifice.  One of our Loving Couples will be willing to pay you $3,500, $5,000, $7,500 or more for your time, effort and inconvenience depending upon your special attributes or talents and the scarcity of your particular characteristics.  Of course, you will control the process in terms of who you are willing to donate to and how much you will require as compensation.  [Note: donors cannot be paid over $10,000 under any circumstances.] Please note that throughout the process you will be receiving medical, psychological and to an extent genetic, evaluations and examinations.  This process will bring you much information, some of it new, that will enable you to make the right decision and give you peace of mind.

 
Who is qualified to become an egg donor?

 

You must be between the ages of 21 and 32 and a non-smoker.  You must be in good health and with a family history without genetic or psychological illnesses. Unfortunately, if you are unable to accurately determine your family medical history (for example, because you are adopted), you are not qualified to donate.  Your weight must be appropriate for your height.  You may be married and you do not have to be a U.S. Citizen.  But please note, not all women qualify as egg donors, and even if you are qualified to donate, you must be mentally prepared and accepting of the fact that your genetic offspring will be born to someone else.    

That was easy! What else is required?

 

You must be on time for all appointments, for example, attend early morning blood tests. You must be able to follow instructions exactly for taking medications in the correct dosages and on time.

There will also be injections (with a small needle) which a friend or relative can administer or you can inject them yourself (in your leg or belly. The doctor will show you how.)  You must be willing and agree to donate all the eggs that result from the cycle.  Of course, you must refrain from sexual intercourse during the cycle and refrain from using any recreational drugs.  Once your eggs are retrieved (removed surgically as explained below), they are inseminated in the doctor’s laboratory, usually with the recipient-husband’s sperm (but occasionally, with donated sperm), and viable embryos are later implanted in the recipient-mother’s womb where the pregnancy will proceed.

After the retrieval and your discharge from the medical facilities, you will receive a Feedback question-

naire from Bundles of Joy asking for your input as to your experience and how we can improve!

 

 

How soon will I be donating?

 

Actually, it’s a possible that we have a Loving Couple waiting for YOU, right now!  But more likely, you will have to wait for a recipient couple that is looking for you to be their Special Someone.  Ordinarily, our Loving Couples will be looking for a donor with particular physical characteristics such as height, eye color and/or hair color.  In addition, some of our Loving Couples will be looking for extra attributes in their donor such as previous pregnancies, an advanced education, athletic ability, a certain ethnicity (for example, Jewish, Japanese, African-American, etc.) or have a talent for music, art, dancing, etc.  In fact, many Loving Couples assign extra value to one of our Special Someones who have success- fully donated in the past which is a good reason to sign up now!  Also, some of our Loving Couples live out of State and will travel to South Florida or will pay for all of your travel expenses to go to them.

 

 No surprises! Here’s exactly how it works

 

The professional caring staff of Bundles of Joy, LLC personally communicates with every Special Someone to explain the process, answer questions and direct them to the appropriate professionals.

Note that females are born with 10 million eggs in their ovaries but during their reproductive years, they only ovulate a few hundred of these eggs, thus they are not “depleting” their ovaries of eggs.

          *Screening and matching

If you have not completed a preliminary questionnaire, one is enclosed as well as a return envelope, or, you can go to BundlesofJoyLLC.com and submit the donor’s preliminary questionnaire.  Thereafter, an extensive questionnaire will be required as well as at least three (3) photographs that will be seen by our Loving Couples, as follows: a current portrait, a current lifestyle photo and a picture of you as a child.  Where applicable, including a picture of your children is highly desirable to our Loving Couples. The results of the screening procedures are used to determine if you are qualified to receive the medical, gynecological, psychological and genetic testing necessary to qualify you as one of our egg donors. Thereafter, this information will be used by our Loving Couples to select their Special Someone.  Please note, however, that not every donor will be matched.  If you are chosen by one of our Loving Couples, a blood test is administered during your menstrual cycle.  Thereafter, you will be given a psychological test to ascertain that you are psychologically equipped to become an egg donor and to make sure that your decision is a well-informed and mature one.  Lastly, you are given medical, gynecologic and genetic exams and a timetable will be coordinated with your Loving Couple.

 

          *Medications, professional monitoring and retrieval

For approximately two (2) weeks, the donor receives injections of female hormones (fertility drugs) which cause the ovaries to mature more eggs than usual per cycle.  Although these eggs would ordinarily be produced anyway, they would remain undeveloped and be passed out of the body during the next menstrual cycle.  This two-week period is referred to as the “stimulation phase” during which time the donor will be closely monitored with different procedures such as ultrasounds (which use sound waves, not dangerous x-rays) and blood tests.  After the stimulation phase (usually within two (2) days), the retrieval procedure begins.  The donor will receive general anesthesia from an anesthesiologist and the Loving Couple’s doctor, a reproductive endocrinologist, will retrieve all of the donor’s mature eggs.  Please note, however, as with any medical procedure, there are risks involved.  We strongly urge you to consult your family doctor and personal gynecologist as well as the Loving Couple’s reproductive endocrinologist to discuss these risks and potential complications.  The retrieval process takes less than one hour and you will wake up shortly afterwards.  After the retrieval, there is a recovery period of no more than two (2) hours after which you will be cleared to go home.  At this time, you, our Special Someone will receive the agreed-upon compensation (whether a pregnancy occurs or not) and will also receive a special thank you gift from Bundles of Joy, LLC!  We ask that

you stay in touch with the Bundles of Joy offices, however, and maintain a current address and telephone numbers on file at all times since we may try to contact you regarding other donation opportunities or in the rare situation, where additional information arises or is needed, such as health history, or if you or a family member develops a serious illness especially where known to be genetic.

 

Is there anything else I should know?

 

Once you become one of our Loving Couples’ Special Someone, screening can begin immediately after your next menstrual cycle.  In three (3) months, the eggs are retrieved.  All screening as well as the injection procedures occurs during this three (3) month process and all costs are borne by the Loving Couple.   All appointments are scheduled, to the extent possible, around your work or school schedule in order to minimize vacation time required.  Please note that your body will recover within a day or two after which a new cycle will begin.  Your having donated your eggs from one cycle will not affect in any way your future cycles and most importantly, your ability to have a family of your own when you are ready.  Please also note that depending upon the particular reproductive endocrinologist used by the Loving Couple, you may be asked to submit to random drug test during the process.

 

If the recipient-mother becomes pregnant and later delivers a child, she will be the birth mother and the lawful mother for all legal purposes even though the child is genetically related to you.  You will be required to sign an acknowledgement of that fact as well as a contract with the Loving Couple although you will be provided with legal counsel.  Unfortunately, you will not be entitled to any compensation whatsoever if the eggs are not retrieved through any fault of your own (such as a failed random drug test).  However, if the recipient couple is unable or unwilling to complete the process, you will still be compensated a percentage thereof, possibly 100%, depending upon the stage of the procedure you are at.  Also, please note that on occasion, our Loving Couple will actually be a loving Single Mother without a male partner who will be using both egg and sperm donors or a Loving Couple who will be utilizing a surrogate to carry the embryo to term.  It is also possible that our Loving Couple will be a same-sex couple.  Our Special Someones are always advised of the status of their recipients at the outset and their decision whether to donate is final.  Also, it is possible that the recipients will not utilize all of their embryos immediately, choosing instead, for example, to freeze unused embryos for future pregnancies.  Bundles of Joy, LLC is not responsible for the ultimate use of the donated eggs.

 

Rest assured that throughout the process, Bundles of Joy, LLC as well as all of the parties involved, will maintain the strictest confidentiality.  All Special Someones’ identities are withheld from their respective Loving Couples who are given only a reference number and your first name.  Once you complete the process, many donors experience so much personal satisfaction from having helped a Loving Couple bring their own little Bundle of Joy into the world, that you will be ready to donate again, although we request that you wait at least sixty (60) days between donation cycles.