You’re almost there . . . you’ve matched with an egg donor, the medical and mental health screenings have been completed, and now it’s time to work on your egg donor contract. At this point, you should be working with your own attorney who can help you figure out the details best for your arrangement. Here’s some pointers to help you through the contract process:
Tip #1: Reading your contract
Read your entire contract word-for-word. Even the boring parts. And equally important is to make sure you understand everything in the contract. Words like “indemnification” and “testamentary” convey important legal concepts that you need to understand to appropriately evaluate your legal rights and responsibilities.
Tip #2: What about extra embryos?
Make sure your contract addresses your options for use and disposition of any extra embryos remaining after your family building is complete. If you wish to donate your embryos to other patients for procreation or to science, it’s critical to have the egg donor’s agreement. And it’s much easier to obtain this at the outset than to try to track down your donor three or four years down the road.
Tip #3: Sharing medical information
Make sure your contract addresses the sharing of medical information in the future. Consider whether you want this to be mutual sharing or whether only the donor will be obligated to provide information to you. Figure out the logistics of conducting this information sharing while maintaining your desired level of anonymity with the egg donor.
Tip #4: Future contact
Determine the level of future social contact you wish to have with each other, and whether you wish to maintain complete anonymity, partial anonymity, or have a completely open arrangement. There are no right or wrong answers here, but it’s important to have your attorney explain the potential legal risks of piercing the veil of anonymity so that you can make an informed decision about what’s right for you.
Tip #5: Anonymity
One way we maintain anonymity in the contract process is to have the egg donor and intended parents sign separate documents, called “counterparts.” It is really important to ensure that both the egg donor and the intended parents sign identical counterparts to protect the integrity and enforceability of the contract.
Tip #6: What if the donor gets hurt?
Think about what will happen if the donor gets hurt. While the vast majority of egg donation cycles proceed smoothly, there are always potential complications when undergoing any type of medical treatment. For egg donation in particular, complications can arise from the hormone injections and from the retrieval surgery.
Tip #7: Signing clinic paperwork
Make sure the clinic consent forms that everyone signs are consistent with your contract. Inconsistencies have the potential to result in a legal nightmare. Your best bet is to have your attorney review these forms before you sign them.
Ready to talk to an attorney about becoming a parent through egg donation? Contact me today for a free consult.
