The egg donor thus has the same low risk of complications from IVF as an autologous IVF patient would, such as bleeding from the oocyte recovery procedure and reaction to the hormones used to induce hyperovulation (producing more than one egg), including ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) and, rarely, liver failure.According to Jansen and Tucker, writing in the same assisted reproductive technologies textbook referenced above, the risk of OHSS varies with the clinic administering the hormones, from 6.6 to 8.4% of cycles, half of them "severe". The most severe form of OHSS is life-threatening. Recent studies have found that donors were at less risk of OHSS when the final maturation of oocytes was induced by GnRH agonist than with recombinant hCG. Both hormones were comparable in the number of mature oocytes produced and fertilization rates. A larger study in the Netherlands found 10 documented cases of deaths from IVF, with a rate of 1:10,000. "All of these patients were treated with GnRH agonists and none of these cases have been published in the scientific literature." The long-term effect of egg donation on donors has not been well studied, but because the same medications and procedures are used, it should be essentially the same as the long-term effect (if any) of IVF on patients using their own eggs.
The donor is then required to undergo a thorough medical examination, including a pelvic exam, AMH blood test to check hormone levels and to test for infectious diseases, Rh factor, blood type, and drugs and an ultrasound to examine her ovaries, uterus and other pelvic organs. A family history of approximately the past three generations is also required, meaning that adoptees are usually not accepted because of the lack of past health knowledge. Genetic testing is also usually done on donors to ensure that they do not carry mutations (e.g., cystic fibrosis) that could harm the resulting children; however, not all clinics automatically perform such testing and thus recipients must clarify with their clinics whether such testing will be done. Once the screening is complete and a legal contract signed, the donor will begin the donation cycle, which typically takes between three and six weeks. An egg retrieval procedure comprises both the Egg Donors Cycle and the Recipients Cycle. Birth control pills are administered during the first few weeks of the egg donation process to synchronize the donors cycle with the recipients, followed by a series of injections which halt the normal functioning of the donors ovaries. These injections may be self-administered on a daily basis for a period of one to three weeks. Next, follicle-stimulating hormones (FSH) are given to the donor to stimulate egg production and increases the number of mature eggs produced by the ovaries.