Support and information on egg donation, including information about how to include the DSR in your recipient/donor contract.

Many egg donor agencies and clinics are now writing the Donor Sibling Registry into their contracts/consent forms so that recipient parents and donors have anonymous (if wished) access to each other right from pregnancy or birth.

The advantages of using the DSR include the fact that our permanent membership price is only $199 for the recipient parents and $225 for the donor ($199 permanent membership and a $26 management fee). Both parties can contact each other at any time, with no middlemen. They can share photos and other pertinent information, such as medical updates, all while remaining private if wished. And, if the children have questions, they can contact the donor on the DSR (with their parents if under age 18) to receive the answers they're looking for.

Recipient parents and donors can connect anytime on the Donor Sibling Registry. Many donor children are curious long before their 18th birthday, and many thousands have made successful connections during their teen (and even earlier) years. We also understand that 18 is an arbitrary number and that parents know their children best regarding what age might be most appropriate for their child to reach out. This empowers everyone involved without having the clinic or a lawyer in charge of their family information.

Attorney Corlandos Scott made a video explaining how the Donor Sibling Registry works.

If you are looking for an attorney to draft your egg donor contract, please email Wendy for recommendations!

2014: The Katie Couric Show: This piece featured a teenager and her parents meeting their egg donor, and her two daughters, for the first time! Very emotional, and shows how important these connections can be — for all involved. Read about it in USA Today and in TheTennessean: Nashville Teen Finds Her Egg Donor. DSR members can watch the video on our Video Library page.

February 2025 from an egg donor: As an egg donor, I can tell you my story. 15 donations. All over 20 embryos were created for each donation. The last donation was 98 eggs, 46 embryos. A family has a couple of babies from each donation. So there are 15-30 babies without embryo adoption. I know of 16 families that have adopted embryos from clinics that have babies by my eggs. CNN did a special on this situation, and with their digging and fact checking, I am now at 46 confirmed live births. But that is definitely not all of them if the parents didn't report the birth. I had no long-term foresight for how this would all play out, and I feel very bad about it. Even though these people got to become parents.

February 2023 from an egg donor: I started off egg donation very adamant about never revealing my identity to any potential egg donor children, and to be completely honest I'm still on the fence. However, the stories I've read on this website and the mission they hold is very compelling so I am creating an account to prevent any future hurt or uncertainty for these children.

October 2021: from an egg donor: I have completed a total of 6 egg donations. Let me tell you, there is nothing more life-changing than this experience. I started out researching egg donating: How does it work? What is it really? What does it entail? I decided in high school that having children myself wasn't something that I wanted to do in this life. I didn't know at the time that there were so many people out there who wanted to have children and couldn't for more reasons than one. 

Infertility. This word never really stuck to me until I started my journey of being an egg donor. I am blessed to be healthy, but deep down, I knew there was something more I could do. This is when I decided to look into egg donating. I have since then been matched twice on DSR. One of the recipients of my eggs is someone I have met and communicate almost daily with. It took communicating with one of my recipients to truly see the impact I have made in the life of this couple. I really started seeing the bigger picture. These eggs are the answers to many - many prayers of some people. "Positive pregnancy - give me a baby." 

I am very thankful that I have been able to play such an important role to the couples who received my eggs. I hope to hear from them if they decide to educate their children about how they were conceived. I am grateful that these recipients chose me to hold such an important role in their lives. It is so rewarding to me to know that I have helped so many people in the short time that I have been on this Earth.

My relationship with one of my recipients is very strong. We communicate daily. The relationship I have with this couple is a bond I never even thought I could have. It isn't the typical relationship you have with a friend - cousin - wife - husband. It is an unexplainable bond and relationship that only someone else who has donated or received eggs from a donor would understand. My appreciation and respect go out to my recipients. I welcome anyone to reach out with any questions, as I am sure there will be many.

September 2020: From an egg-donor-conceived person: I was conceived with a donor egg at CCRM at the Lone Tree [CO] office in 1996. After finding out that I was donor-conceived in 2016, I immediately began searching for answers. My parents had very limited information yet were able to give me a basic packet with some medical information and characteristics about my donor. There was no donor number included and there was no photo. Even after reading it, I was intrigued to learn more as my donor did select that she would be interested in talking to me once I had turned 18. I figured that I could contact the office and they would help me get in contact with her, as that is what she consented to.

I initially contacted the office in 2016, and was given very short and cold answers. Originally they told me that the records were in another building, and then after I followed up with no response, they told me that there had been paperwork that had been lost. I continued to search for more answers and try and rely on them as they had all of the info and I figured they would be open to helping me. I couldn't have been more wrong.

After the lost paperwork scenario, they stated that they were unable to get in contact with her based off of the address she had provided in 1996. This made sense to me, but they gave me no support finding her new address, finding a new way of contacting her, or helping me navigate this situation. They were the people with all of the info, and I felt as though they genuinely had no interest in helping me search. I continued to contact them and email them, trying to get more information, and I even had one person at their office tell me that 'they had her packet and looked at her photo.'' After about a year of this back and forth contact, they told me that they felt as though they didn't know how to help me anymore. Within the past couple of months, I have begun working on my own to find my donor and have taken advantage of resources such as the DSR as well as Facebook groups for donor-conceived individuals. I ended up doing 23andMe in 2019 and through 23andMe I connected with a variety of individuals but it was difficult as none of them were closely related to me. I ended up having an individual in the group help me find my donor, who I was able to find within a day or so. We are now in contact and are going to meet — she always had wanted me to be able to contact her and it is frustrating for both of us that CCRM would not keep their word and help donor-conceived individuals find their donors when it was what the donor consented to.

This whole situation and search was extremely emotionally draining for me as I felt as though CCRM was not recognizing my own emotional needs or recognizing the rights that donor-conceived individuals should have. I had a really difficult experience working with them and I hope that CCRM can educate themselves more on the rights of donor-conceived individuals and how they are feeling.

January 2020: From an egg donor's mother: The DSR has been of enormous value in connecting donor-conceived half-siblings and in helping donor-conceived offspring and their donors find each other. For many people, these new family connections have been so positive and rewarding. Less often have we heard from grandparents, and that’s what I’d like to tell you about today. My daughter was an anonymous egg donor in her early 20s. Only a few years later she died of cancer. I didn’t know if her egg donations had ever produced children, and never expected to have any contact with them. After her death, I unexpectedly heard from 2 families who had come across my daughter’s obituary and, thanks to the information they had originally received from the egg donor agency (more than is currently provided!), along with the information that had become available by then on the Internet, they were able to find me. Their motivation at the time was to learn more about her cancer in order to see if their donor-conceived children were at risk. The result, however, was that I was able to meet these children and their parents. Over the past decade, I have been so grateful to have ongoing relationships with these children, who are now young adults. Like most grandparents, I very much enjoy having grandchildren, visiting them and having them visit me, interacting with them, and watching them grow up. And in addition, they are my strongest connection to my daughter — their genes, their physical resemblance, their interests, and their abilities. Knowing them has been a major blessing in my life. In addition, I grew up with very few relatives, but now I am a part of two more families. I feel close to the parents of these kids, enjoy visiting them, and am grateful that they have accepted me as a member of their families.

2015: From one of the oldest egg donor offspring on the DSR: I was conceived by a donor egg in 1988. My mom says she does not remember any of the basic information about the egg donor (ethnicity, medical history, etc). I have called the clinic where I was conceived multiple times, left messages, and never gotten a response back. The only information I have is the serial number of the petri dish I was made in because the clinic gave my mom the petri dish as a souvenir. I am G**80. I got that number tattooed on the back of my neck; I guess it was my way of trying to re-establish control and ownership of my own body after I had been told I had no legal rights (seeing as I was the product, and not one of the people involved) to my own genetic history and information. I love my mom and her family, but it has always been extremely obvious that I do not share genetic material with them; aside from physical appearance, we have absolutely nothing in common in terms of shared interests, aptitudes, dislikes, taste, or personal traits. We are polar opposites to a comical degree.

An egg donor joined the DSR with this heart-warming message: Egg donation is a part of my life that I hold near and dear to my heart. I'd love to connect with recipients to answer any questions they have about me and to potentially meet if thats what we mutually agree to. I'm passionate about doing this and have taken this responsibility very seriously. I feel I've finally gotten the courage to join the registry because it's the right time. I'm excited to potentially open my heart and family to new individuals who I feel a strong connection to without knowing anything about them. Please message me if you feel I'm your donor!

If you're thinking about donating and already have or will have a family of your own, consider this message from an egg donor's child:  Years ago my mom sold her eggs to help pay rent and give us a good holiday (we weren’t doing well at the time). I was around 7 at the time and didn’t understand until now how big of a deal that was. I’m 14 now and it keeps me up at night that I have 1 or more siblings out there. I’ve been reading stories online about how donor siblings found each other and it literally brought tears to my eyes. I want to meet them so bad and it makes me upset thinking I could go my entire life without meeting someone related to me. I wanna know what they’re like ... so bad. I can’t even describe how much I want to meet them ... it hurts a little. I’ve talked to my mom about this and she says just leave it alone and don’t think about it too much ... but it’s hard. She doesn’t know I’m looking for them on here and I don’t know if I’ll find them but I wanna try.

A former egg donor reports: When I explained why I wanted [my donor number], I was told [by the clinic] that reunions typically do not go well and that I should not pursue the matter further.

Note from the DSR: This is nothing more than a fear tactic used by facilities looking to protect their own best interests (liabilities). We have thousands of testimonials, media stories, articles, and published research (peer-reviewed) on the DSR website showing successful, enriching, and life-changing connections between half-siblings and between donors and offspring. No matter what type of contract you signed with your egg clinic/agency, and no matter how they may advise against it, you always have the right to make yourself available for mutual consent contact on the DSR.

Another former egg donor reports: Some fellow egg donors in an ED group admitted to lying and/or purposefully withholding information on their applications so they could be accepted. One ED even told another potential ED how many days to be off her meds so she could clear any screening done. It's not just sperm donors who cheat to make a buck. There needs to be far more accountability.

Sharing medical information on the DSR can be extremely important. Here are some examples of the need to provide updated medical info:

2016: As a donor, I updated my medical records between donations. They did not pass those updates on to previous recipients NOR recipients that came after those updates. I only know that because a family that came after that insisted on contact. She showed me all of the info she had gotten on me. Those updates were not included. Any of the updates I have done since have not been passed on to her either.

2016: I was an egg donor over 20 years ago. I called the office where I donated and let them know about my son having ADHD, anxiety, bipolar, etc. so they could let the offspring's family know. I am assuming because it was 100% confidential ... they really didn't seem like they were interested or were going to pass the information on.

2016: I donated my eggs four different times at Genetics & IVF Institute in Fairfax, VA in the 90s/early 00s. Since then I discovered I carry a gene which means I'm at a much higher risk of getting several types of cancer. Since then I've tried to contact Genetics & IVF Institute so that they can relay this information to my offspring (they have a 50/50 chance of inheriting it), but they were not interested and it was obvious that they were not going to inform the families despite the fact that early screening could potentially save these children's lives. I've recently turned 42 years old and I was just told this week that I most likely have ovarian cancer (this will be confirmed through pathology after surgery) and that I will need my ovary removed ASAP. I don't know if this is because of donating my eggs when I was younger or because of my family history. It's very upsetting either way.

2016: I have been a member of the registry since 2004. I donated eggs in 97, 98, and 99. I am concerned about the children that may have resulted from those cycles. I have been diagnosed with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). I have 4 children; 2 have the disease. One does not and the youngest has not yet been tested. He is 15 and conceived from the cycle in 99. I kept 3 eggs and donated 20. I contacted the clinic immediately after I found out. They completely accepted the information but did not give me any real Indication that they would relay the information. I lost my mom in 2005 to aneurysm as a result of the disease. My niece had aneurysm surgery 4 years ago. She was the youngest diagnosed with serious complications. My sisters are both in renal failure waiting for transplants." (If you used the Cooper Center for IVF between 1997-1999, or know anyone else who did, please see the postings for this clinic on the DSR. Email Wendy if you need more information.)

2016: A mom’s story, after making contact with her egg donor. Are there any egg donors out there with a similar experience with severe OHSS and/or other serious medical issues following egg donation? Any parents or egg donors out there who suspect that eggs or embryos were stolen and sold without your knowledge?

2015: I am an ovum donor and I have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome types 2 and 3, and my two children do as well. This was only discovered in my 30s. I so wish I could tell other offspring. (According to the Mayo Clinic, if you have the most common varieties of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, there's a 50 percent chance that you'll pass on the gene to each of your children.)

As more egg donors, parents, and people conceived via egg donation come to the DSR, we want to make sure that they have all the educational materials and support that they might need. Here are some articles relating specifically to egg donation.

For more published research on egg donation, see our Research page.

August 2024 DSR statistic: 3,588 egg donors are now registered on the DSR, compared to 1,812 sperm donors. The increased number of registered egg donors is because facilities such as Kindbody, Embryo Connections, Egg Donor Solutions, Vios, Idaho Center for Reproductive Medicine, Fertility Centers of Illinois, San Diego Fertility Center, and Oregon Reproductive Medicine are regularly writing the DSR into their parent/donor agreements so that connecting can happen right from pregnancy/birth.