For those navigating fertility treatment with donor eggs or embryos, it’s natural to hope for certainty. The emotional and financial stakes are high, and with so much riding on the outcome, it's understandable to want some form of guarantee.
We believe in meeting that hope with honesty. While we don’t offer pregnancy or live birth guarantees, our commitment to transparency and excellence has helped over 1,200 intended parents build their families. This post explains how we approach donor egg and embryo guarantees, what we can promise, what we can’t, and why our results consistently exceed national standards.
The Many Factors That Influence Pregnancy and Birth
Every fertility journey is unique and complex. Even with high-quality donor eggs or embryos, there are many variables, most outside anyone's control, that impact whether a pregnancy occurs and results in a live birth.
Some of the most important factors include:
- Sperm quality: The success of fertilization depends significantly on sperm health, including motility, morphology, and count.
- Uterine health: The uterus must be properly prepared and structurally sound to support implantation and pregnancy.
- The age and health of the person carrying the pregnancy: Hormonal imbalances, underlying health conditions, or age-related changes can affect outcomes.
- Embryo transfer and lab environment: The technique and precision of the physician performing the embryo transfer, as well as the protocols used in the IVF lab, can influence success.
- Response to medications: IVF medications can differ, and it cannot always be predicted how an individual's body will respond to them.
As a third-party donor agency, we support and coordinate with clinics and patients, but we are not involved in the clinical side of treatment. This is why we cannot, in good conscience, offer guarantees tied to pregnancy or live birth outcomes when so many other factors are out of our control.
Why Some Fertility Programs Offer Live Birth Guarantees
You may come across fertility programs that advertise pregnancy or live birth guarantees. These typically come from in-house programs that manage every step of the process, including egg retrieval, embryo development and transfer, and medical care throughout the IVF cycle.
Donor Nexus functions differently. We are a dedicated donor egg and embryo agency that partners with a network of trusted IVF clinics. Our role is to provide access to thoroughly screened donors and high-quality eggs and embryos and to support intended parents in making the best choices for their path forward.
Because we don't oversee medical treatment, lab protocols, or embryo transfer procedures, it would be misleading and ultimately unfair to you to guarantee results that depend on external variables. Instead, we focus on offering meaningful, ethical guarantees rooted in what we can influence.
Egg and Embryo Donation Guarantees at Donor Nexus
We understand that peace of mind matters. While we can’t guarantee outcomes like pregnancy or birth, we do provide specific, clearly defined guarantees tied to egg and embryo quality and early-stage results.
Frozen Egg Banking
For every cohort of 6 frozen donor eggs, we guarantee at least one blastocyst-stage embryo by Day 7, suitable for transfer or freezing. If this benchmark is not met, we will provide a replacement cohort at no additional cost.
To qualify for a replacement cohort:
- The IVF clinic must provide a Warming and Outcome Report
- A normal semen analysis (defined as >1 million total progressively motile sperm) must be submitted
If your selected egg donor does not have more frozen eggs available, we'll work with you to select a new donor who is a suitable match.
Fresh Egg Donor Cycle
In fresh one-on-one cycles, intended parents receive 100% of the eggs retrieved from the donor. On average, 24 eggs are retrieved, of which 21 are typically mature and usable.
While fertilization or embryo development are not guaranteed, this model gives you the full benefit of your donor's egg retrieval, maximizing opportunities for success across multiple transfer attempts or future family-building opportunities.
Embryo Donation
In the rare case that frozen embryos do not survive the thaw, we offer two options:
- Thaw additional embryos from the same profile
- Provide alternative backup profiles for your selection, at no additional cost
This gives you a safety net to continue your cycle without delay or unexpected expense.
Why Our Guarantees Focus on What's Realistically Deliverable
Because fertility treatments already involve enough uncertainty, we believe it’s our responsibility to eliminate confusion and avoid false assurances. Our guarantees are based on clear, measurable milestones, such as blastocyst development or embryo thaw survival, that we can influence and verify.
Our ethical approach protects you both emotionally and financially. It also aligns with our core values at Donor Nexus: transparency, integrity, and patient-centered care.
The Numbers Behind Our Commitment to Your Success
Donor Nexus is proud to share that our live birth success rates consistently exceed national averages to provide intended parents with a strong foundation of hope.
Here’s how our outcomes compare:
Fresh Donor Eggs
- National Average: Fresh Donor Egg Live Birth Rate: 53.5%
- Donor Nexus: Fresh Donor Egg Live Birth Rate: 67.6%
Fresh donor egg cycles at Donor Nexus provide strong outcomes due to full access to all retrieved eggs and immediate fertilization, which may benefit certain patients depending on clinic preference and timing.
Frozen Donor Eggs
- National Average: Frozen Donor Egg Live Birth Rate: 45.8%
- Donor Nexus Egg Bank: Frozen Donor Egg Live Birth Rate: 48.5%
While not quite as successful as fresh eggs, the success rates for frozen eggs have increased thanks to recent technological advancements in oocyte cryopreservation.
Frozen Donor Embryos
- National Average: Donated Embryo Live Birth Rate: 42%
- Donor Nexus: Donated Embryo Live Birth Rate: 48%
Embryo donation also remains a promising path that offers similar success rates and options for recipients seeking a more streamlined or affordable family-building journey.
Donor Nexus's success rates surpass national averages thanks to our quality over quantity approach, personalized egg and embryo donation programs, and trusted clinic partnerships. Our success is also driven by thoughtful donor-recipient matching and a commitment to transparency and ethical care. While we don’t guarantee pregnancy or birth, our consistently high success rates reflect the care, expertise, and integrity we bring to every step of your journey.
Empowering Intended Parents Through Realistic Expectations
We understand how emotionally and financially overwhelming the path to parenthood can be, especially when there’s so much uncertainty involved. We don’t offer guarantees we can’t control, but we do offer something just as important: transparency, support, and informed guidance. Our goal is to equip you with the facts, walk you through the process, and help you feel empowered to make the best decisions for your unique journey.
Donor Nexus is proud to offer:
- High-quality donor eggs and embryos
- Thoughtful, ethical guarantees
- A dedicated team that advocates for your success
- A track record of real-world results that give reason for hope
If you have questions about our programs or guarantees, we’re here to talk. Reach out to learn more about how Donor Nexus can support you on your family-building journey.
