What is a fresh donor cycle?
In a fresh donor cycle, you choose a donor and she goes through a full IVF stimulation for you. She takes injectable hormones for about two weeks, is monitored with bloodwork and ultrasounds, and has her eggs retrieved in a short procedure under sedation. Every egg retrieved in that cycle is yours, often 10 to 20, and they are fertilized with your chosen sperm within hours.
"Fresh" describes the eggs, not the embryo transfer. The eggs are fertilized without being frozen first. The embryos that result are usually grown to the blastocyst stage, tested if you choose, and frozen until your surrogate or the intended mother is ready for transfer.
A fresh cycle starts with a donor match. The donor is screened at your clinic, both of you sign a legal agreement with your own attorneys, and her cycle is scheduled. That is why it takes longer than buying frozen eggs. It also means you work with one donor's whole cycle, not a portion of it.
What is a frozen egg bank lot?
A frozen egg bank recruits and screens donors, retrieves their eggs, and freezes them by vitrification, a fast-freezing method that protects the egg from ice crystal damage. The bank then divides each donor's eggs into lots and sells them to families. A lot commonly contains 6 to 8 eggs.
You choose a donor from the bank's catalog, buy one or more lots, and the bank ships the eggs to your clinic. The embryology lab thaws them and fertilizes them, usually by ICSI, where a single sperm is injected into each egg. From there the process is the same as a fresh cycle: embryo culture, optional testing, and freezing or transfer.
The donor has already cycled, so there is no wait for her screening, legal agreement or stimulation. The trade-off is that you buy a fixed number of eggs, and other families may buy other lots from the same donor.
A third option sits next to these two. Some banks and clinics offer frozen embryos already created from donor eggs and donor sperm. That skips both the egg and sperm steps, but neither intended parent has a genetic link to the child.
How many embryos can you expect from each?
Not every egg becomes an embryo you can transfer. At each step some drop out: some eggs are not mature, some do not fertilize, and some embryos stop growing before they reach the blastocyst stage on day 5 to 7. The more eggs you start with, the more blastocysts you are likely to end with.
That is the core difference. A fresh cycle of 10 to 20 eggs usually produces more blastocysts than a bank lot of 6 to 8 eggs. Many clinics plan on 6 to 8 mature frozen eggs per expected live birth, though results vary with the donor's age and the lab's experience.
Your clinic's own numbers matter more than any general figure. Ask your clinic three questions:
- How many blastocysts do you typically get from a fresh donor cycle?
- How many from one bank lot, thawed and fertilized in your lab?
- What share of those blastocysts are normal on PGT-A?
| Fresh donor cycle | Frozen egg bank lot | Frozen donor embryo | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eggs per cycle or lot | Often 10 to 20 | Commonly 6 to 8 | Not applicable; you receive embryos |
| Expected blastocysts | [clinic data to confirm] | [clinic data to confirm] | Number purchased |
| Cost range | Program fee plus $12,935 to $18,835 in donor compensation and third-party costs (2023 schedule, updating), plus clinic fees | [range to confirm] | [range to confirm] |
| Time to embryos | 2 to 3 months from match | Weeks | Ready at purchase |
| Split cycle possible | Yes | Not usually; each lot goes to one family | No |
| Sibling guarantee | You keep every embryo from the cycle | Depends on the donor's remaining inventory | Depends on the bank's remaining embryos |
How do the costs compare?
A fresh cycle costs more up front. You pay the program fee, donor compensation (from $10,000 at PLS, set per match), her screening, her medications, her monitoring and retrieval, legal fees for both sides, escrow, any travel, and a donor complication insurance policy. At PLS the egg donation program fee is $11,000 ($1,500 at donor reservation, $9,500 on invoice), or $8,500 when combined with a PLS surrogacy journey. On the 2023 schedule, which PLS is updating, donor compensation and the third-party items (escrow, donor complications insurance, her mental health evaluation, legal fees for both sides and travel) came to $12,935 to $18,835. See the cost table on the egg donor program page.
A bank lot costs less per purchase. The bank has already paid for screening, compensation and retrieval and spread those costs across several lots. You pay the lot price, shipping, and your clinic's thaw and fertilization fees.
The fairer comparison is cost per expected embryo, or cost per expected child. A fresh cycle spreads its higher price across more embryos. A bank lot has a lower price but fewer embryos, and if you need a second lot, you pay again. For a family that wants two or more children, a fresh cycle can cost less per child. For a family that wants one child, a bank lot may cost less overall. Ask your clinic for written quotes for both options, built on its own embryo numbers.
How do the timelines compare?
A fresh donor cycle takes about 2 to 3 months from match to embryos:
- Screening: about 4 to 6 weeks, with the legal agreement drafted in parallel.
- Stimulation: about two weeks, with 8 to 10 clinic visits.
- Retrieval: one day.
- Embryo culture: 5 to 7 days.
- PGT-A results, if you test: about 1 to 2 weeks.
A bank lot takes weeks. Once you buy the lot and it ships, your clinic can thaw and fertilize when you are ready. Embryo culture and testing take the same time as a fresh cycle.
If you are also matching with a surrogate, the fresh cycle's longer timeline rarely holds you up. Today it takes about 9 months from signing with PLS to a surrogate introduction, so a fresh donor cycle can finish well before your surrogate is medically cleared.
Which is better for two dads, sibling plans or PGT-A?
Two dads. A fresh cycle allows a split cycle: the eggs are divided and each intended father fertilizes part of them. That gives each of you a chance at a genetically related child from the same donor, so your children are half-siblings. A single bank lot is usually too few eggs to split. If you are still deciding whose sperm to use, see whose sperm should we use.
Sibling plans. If you want two or more children who share the same donor, a fresh cycle is the more reliable path, because every embryo from the cycle is yours. With a bank, a second lot depends on what that donor has left in inventory, and it may be gone by the time you are ready.
PGT-A. You can test embryos from either source. PGT-A is performed on the blastocyst, whether the egg was fresh or frozen. Because testing removes some embryos from consideration, it favors starting with more eggs. Families who plan to test often lean toward a fresh cycle for that reason. Read more about PGT-A.
What does the research say about success rates?
SART reports that live birth rates per transfer with donor eggs are similar for fresh and frozen donor eggs when the embryology lab is experienced with frozen eggs. [SART report year to cite.]
Two points help you read that correctly. First, a per-transfer rate tells you how a single embryo performs once it is transferred. It does not tell you how many embryos you will have to transfer. A fresh cycle usually gives you more embryos, so it gives you more transfers. Second, lab experience matters. Vitrification and thawing are skilled work, and results with frozen eggs vary between labs. Ask your clinic for its own outcomes with bank eggs, not only national figures.
Donor age matters in both cases. Eggs from donors in their twenties carry the strongest chance of healthy embryos whichever route you choose.
How does PLS coordinate each option?
PLS helps you decide by your embryo goal: how many children you hope for, whether you want full or half siblings, and whether you plan to test embryos. Then it coordinates the option you choose.
- Fresh cycle. PLS presents screened donors and coordinates screening, independent attorneys, independent escrow and the cycle schedule with your clinic. Dr. Silverberg reads each donor's medical records before a match.
- Bank lot. PLS helps you compare banks, confirm what screening the bank has documented, and coordinate shipping and timing with your clinic and your surrogate's schedule.
- Combined with surrogacy. PLS runs the donor work in parallel with your surrogate search, so embryos are ready when your surrogate is.
For the full program, see the egg donor program.
Sources
- Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART), national donor egg outcome reporting.
- American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), guidance on oocyte cryopreservation and donor egg IVF.
- US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), donor eligibility rules (21 CFR Part 1271).