The following information is only provided to help you understand the procedures involved in egg donation and is not intended as medical or legal advice. If after reading this explanation of the egg donation process you are still interested in donation, please e-mail your positive response to Darlene@aperfectmatch.com

A PERFECT MATCH, INC.

We are pleased that you have expressed an interest in helping infertile families through egg donation. A Perfect Match, Inc. (APM) works with individual families who have medical conditions leading to infertility and donors who are willing to help them in their attempt to achieve a pregnancy. There are times when other agencies specializing in surrogacy and/or egg donation may contact us to help them find a donor who is suitable for their particular client.

A Perfect Match does not choose the professionals involved with the donation process. We facilitate by acting as the liaison between the prospective parents, the donor, the agency, the attorneys and the professionals performing the procedures and screening. Our job is to coordinate the donation process, which includes the screening process, as directed by the primary physician.

The prospective parents (IPs) choose all the medical professionals involved in the donation process. We encourage our donors to investigate the medical service provider chosen by the IPs and to satisfy themselves as to the provider's professionalism and expertise. We will give you the contact information for that center so you may speak with the doctor directly, if desired. If you are uncomfortable with that center for any reason, we ask that you notify us immediately.

THERE ARE POTENTIAL RISKS INHERENT WITH ALL ASPECTS OF THE EGG DONATION MEDICAL PROCESS AND PROCEDURES, INCLUDING TAKING ANY MEDICATION. IT IS THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE DONOR TO INVESTIGATE ALL SUCH RISKS AND TO DISCUSS ALL MEDICAL ISSUES WITH THE PRIMARY PHYSICIAN

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Ovum Donation Information

The first step in the egg donation process is the recruitment of a donor who is a non-smoker under 30 years of age, and who maintains a healthy lifestyle. You will be asked to fill out a profile and to send photos. Our office will assign a number to your profile for identification purposes. Often times a donor is willing to have the potential parents know her first name. Please notify our office if you do not want your first name used. At no time will any identifying information be given to any IP without your permission.

In the past egg donation was completely anonymous, however, that may not be the case any longer. Some IPs and Donors welcome the opportunity to speak with each other, and a phone conference will be arranged by our office when it is desired by all parties involved. A personal meeting between the IP and Donor is becoming more comon, and we would facilitate that meeting if all parties agree to meet.

Once you are chosen by a family you will be asked to have genetic, physical, psychological and infectious disease screening. There is no cost to you for these screenings. Our Donors and IPs are located throughout the country; therefore, you may be required to travel to the location of the clinic chosen by the IP. If you are required to travel outside of your home area the IPs will pay for all expenses. These expenses include flights, hotel, meals, etc.; however, lost wages are not covered during the screening. The primary IVF physician may allow some or all of the screening tests to be performed at a location that is convenient to your home. The IVF physician will send all instructions to the screening location agreed upon, and the results will be forwarded to the primary IVF physician in charge of the cycle and performing the retrieval procedure.

Potential donors are carefully screened and must pass a number of tests as required by our program and mandated by the State of California (or State in which the retrieval will take place) and the FDA. These tests can be performed at a location that is convenient to your home and will be arranged by the physician in charge of the cycle.

Please do not get any tattoos, or body piercings from the time you apply to become a donor. The State of California and FDA requires a donor to wait 6 months after having any body piercing and 1 year from receiving a tattoo before she can donate. This is due to the increased risk of infectious diseases.

Genetic Screening is performed to identify individuals who are carriers of genetically transmitted diseases such as; cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anemia and Tay-Sachs disease. A donor may also be screened for other diseases based on the findings of the Geneticist, or the desires of the IP.

Psychological Screening is to ensure that a donor fully understands the emotional aspects of donation. A face to face meeting with a psychlogist/social worker will be required, and an MMPI or other type of personality assessment will be administered at that time.

Medical Screening is performed to ensure that the donor is physically capable of undergoing the ovum donation process. She will also be tested for sexually transmitted, or other transmissible diseases which will include: HIV, HTLV-1 & 2, Hepatitis B & C; an ultrasound and vaginal cultures will also be required. *The sexual partner of the donor MUST be screened for sexually transmitted diseases. *There is a possibility of a urine screening or hair follicle testing for drugs.

APM will provide you with our Travel Benefit's package, which outlines exactly how our program works. The terms in this package set forth many of the legal terms in your egg donation contract. You will be asked to sign this document before we send out attorney referrals. Once you have signed the package, these terms will be incorporated into your legal egg donation contract with the IPs.

We will provide a list of attorneys who specialize in Ovum Donation Law, and you will be asked to select an attorney. The donor and the IP must have separate counsel; the IPs will pay for the donor's attorney. You will enter into a contract with the IP and this legally binding contract should not be entered into lightly. The contract will cover compensation, travel arrangements, legal obligations of the parties, conduct, who the eggs and resulting embryos belong to, etc. A Donor is able to cancel the contract for any reason until the day she begins injectable medications. Once medications begin the donor can only cancel for medical reasons or she may be in breach of contract and be responsible for medical costs paid to that date. The medical reason must be substantiated by the primary IVF physician.

The IP's attorney is called the drafting attorney; the donor's attorney is called the reviewing attorney. The drafting attorney will send a contract to the reviewing attorney. The reviewing attorney is responsible for getting a copy of the contract to you. Once you have read the contract you will be asked to have a conference, either in person or by phone, with your attorney to discuss any changes you might want and to make sure you understand exactly what is expected of you, as well as what may constitute a breach of contract. Your attorney then notifies the drafting attorney of any changes you are requesting and will relay these requests to the IP's attorney.

The attorneys receive a copy of your signed package and are instructed to notify APM immediately should you request any changes that are outside of APM's program; however, it is ultimately YOUR responsibility to notify APM immediately of any terms in the contract that deviate from your Benefits Package. APM will then help resolve any discrepancies. Once the terms of the contract are finalized, then all parties will be required to sign the contract. Medications will not begin until all parties have signed the contract, and a legal clearance letter is sent to the IVF physician notifying them that the cycle can commence.

The compensation amount is never set by APM, so you will be asked to give us a range of compensation that would be acceptable to you. APM will notify you of any offer from a family even if that amount differs from your stated preferred range. You will then have the option to accept, reject or negotiate any terms of the offer. Once a final compensation has been agreed upon, however, you will not be allowed to change the amount.

Compensation is generally paid in two installments. The first amount is paid when a donor begins a medication called Lupron. The amount is $750.00 and will be paid to you by our office through priority mail once we receive confirmation that you began the medication. The second installment, paid on the day of retrieval, is the balance of the agreed upon compensation. For example only: if you were receiving $10,000 compensation, then $750.00 would be paid on the day you start Lupron, and the balance of $9,250.00 would be paid on day of the retrieval procedure. If someone from our office cannot be present on the day of retrieval, we will send the balance of your compensation via Federal Express, or Overnight mail, once we have confirmation from the medical facility that the retrieval occurred. Your compensation will be paid as long as the retrieval took place. It is not based on the number of eggs retrieved.

If you are not already taking oral contraceptives, you may receive a prescription for birth control. These are given to help regulate your cycle and will allow the physician to coordinate your cycle with that of the recipient or surrogate. You may be asked to start birth control prior to having the contract signed.

Donors must refrain from sexual intercourse once medications begin. You will be extremely fertile during this time. You will be asked to either abstain from sexual relations, or to use a combination of effective barriers prior to starting any of the medications and to completely abstain from the beginning of stimulation medications until approximately one week after surgery. This is an approximate time period of 3 weeks. You will also be asked to curtail any heavy exercising during the stimulation stage. Please discuss your questions regarding sexual activity with the primary physician. If you become pregnant during the medication stage, the cycle would have to be cancelled and you may be in breach of contract.

On approximately day 21 of her cycle a donor will begin the first of her medications. A medication called Lupron is a daily subcutaneous injection. (It sounds worse than it is!) This needle is a tiny, 2 inch insulin type needle. A professional will teach you how to administer this to yourself. Lupron is not a fertility medication and is given to keep the ovaries from ovulating. A different form of Lupron is used by some IVF centers and is given as a one time injection. You will have a flow within a week to ten days. An ultrasound will be performed to make sure the ovaries are quiet. Once the donor and recipient both have their flows the next medication will be administered. Some donors have complaints of hot flushes, moodiness and headaches. We have found that if donors lead active lives, they generally have fewer complaints and many have no complaints at all. The first part of the compensation will be paid by our office at this point. The amount paid is generally $750.00. Please discuss all potential side effects with the primary physician.

Follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) is a medication that has many brand names. The follicle stimulating medication causes the eggs to grow and mature. This medication is administered for 8-10 days. The most common are Gonal-F, Follistim and Fertinex. These medications are given daily, by subcutaneous injections, with the small 2 inch needle.

There are two other medications that might possibly be used and they may require intramuscular administration. The typical complaints are of bloating and occasional nausea. Please discuss all potential side effects with the primary physician.

THERE ARE POTENTIAL RISKS INHERENT WITH ALL ASPECTS OF THE EGG DONATION MEDICAL PROCESS AND PROCEDURES, INCLUDING TAKING ANY MEDICATION. IT IS THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE DONOR TO INVESTIGATE ALL SUCH RISKS AND TO DISCUSS ALL MEDICAL ISSUES WITH THE PRIMARY PHYSICIAN.

During the stimulation phase you will be required to have a blood test on day 3, an ultrasound and blood test on day 5, and then every other day you will be required to have a blood test and ultrasound until the eggs are mature. Some centers will require the donor to have their day 5 ultrasound at their center only. Other centers allow the donor to remain in their home area until day 7 or 8. Until a center is chosen by the family, we will not know the protocol you will be asked to follow, but you will be informed as quickly as possible.

The blood tests and ultrasounds will help the physician determine the number, size, and quality of the eggs. These tests are generally done between 7-9 am. Once the eggs are mature, the donor will be given a medication called hCG. This medication is given 35 hours prior to the retrieval. The timing and administration of this medication is crucial. This medication will be given intramuscularly in the posterior, lateral hip. You will need help in the administration of this medication. You must be sure to drink lots of fluids during this time.

The procedure for harvesting eggs is usually performed in the morning and takes approximately one hour. Prior to the retrieval, a small IV will be placed into the arm vein to administer fluids and medication. Some centers choose to use a sedative. Donors who are sedated may feel a little discomfort, but most tolerate the procedure extremely well. Other centers will have their patients completely asleep with general anesthesia. In the operating room, the sedative, or anesthesia, will be administered. The physician will use an ultrasound guidance machine and a needle will be placed through the back of the vagina and the eggs will be removed from the ovaries. This portion of the procedure takes between 20 and 30 minutes. The eggs will be taken to the laboratory to be mixed with the recipient's partner's sperm.

The majority of donors are able to go home within two hours after donation. If you had to fly you will be required to stay through the day and will be able to fly home the following morning. If you have a traveling companion some centers may agree to let you fly home the same day. On the day of retrieval the full balance of your compensation will be paid to you. If we cannot be present at your retrieval we will send out your payment by Overnight mail, or Federal Express, once we have received confirmation that the retrieval took place.

As you can see, there is a large commitment on your part and everyone will be counting on you to do everything in the manner that is required by the physician. For you the benefit will be financial compensation plus the satisfaction of attempting to help someone who might otherwise not be able to have a child. The gift you are offering is beyond measure and we will do everything in our power to make this a positive experience. We will treat you with all the respect we sincerely believe you deserve.

Please contact our office to let us know if you are interested in continuing with the process.

For More Information Darlene@aperfectmatch.com 1-800-264-8828

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