Article

A Thank You to Our Egg Donors

SGF is home to the largest fresh-cycle egg donor program in the country. Each year, we work with thousands of women who are interested in helping people become parents through egg donation. This year marks an especially significant practice milestone, with 85,000 babies born since the center first opened its doors in 1991, and our egg donors have played a significant role in this remarkable achievement.

The mission of Shady Grove Fertility, as co-founder Michael J. Levy, M.D., describes it, has been to always do what’s in the best interest of the patients. It’s the Golden Rule of the practice.

“It is a wonderful challenge to reflect on the reality that in the 29 years of practice at Shady Grove Fertility we have helped bring over 85,000 babies into the world. I do not think that this is best understood by the staggering reality that every baby, child, and young adult would fill a large sports stadium, 170 elementary schools, 42 high schools, or a large university. It is best understood by thinking about one recent patient. When we first saw her she was feeling overwhelmed and depressed by 5 years of infertility. When she returned to proudly show us her baby her demeanor was transformed to one of pure joy. Her mother wrote to thank us for both her grandchild and for helping ‘get her daughter back.’ If we reflect on that baby, her parents, and grandparents we begin to realize what doing this 85,000 times really means,” shares Dr. Levy.

Our egg donors have helped make these moments of joy possible for patients who need an egg donor to become parents and we are so grateful for them. Without the generosity of the women in our Egg Donor Program, we would not have reached this incredible milestone. Patients from all over the world turn to SGF when they are seeking an egg donor. One of our Ireland patients shared her message of gratitude for her egg donor:

“Thank you a million, million, million times for giving him, and us, life. Thank you for the better life we have being his parents. Thank you for allowing for us to be Santa, have birthday parties, and be called ‘mom and dad.’ Thank you for the opportunity to see life through the eyes of our child; the hugs, the love, the chaos, the crisis over a missing toy and the messy car… we love it all. Honestly, we couldn’t love and cherish him any more than we do. We are proud to be his parents.”

SGF’s physicians and patients are so grateful for our past, present, and future egg donors. We continue to grow each day and make parenthood possible through egg donation.

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in November 2017, but was reviewed and updated for accuracy in November 2019.