How US egg donor pay works: flat rates, ranges, ceilings and what's reimbursed

There is no single US egg donor rate. Each program states pay its own way: a flat amount per completed cycle, a published range, a "starts at" floor, or an "up to" ceiling. Travel and other expenses usually sit outside that figure, though some programs fold them into it. The figures below come from program pages checked in October 2026. We don't average them. When a page leaves a field out, we mark it unpublished instead of guessing. This guide isn't medical, tax or legal advice.

The four ways programs state pay

According to the ASRM Ethics Committee, compensation should "acknowledge the donor's time, inconvenience, and discomfort" and "should not vary according to the planned use of the oocytes (reproductive or research) or the number or quality of oocytes retrieved." ASRM doesn't set dollar amounts. In the 2016 settlement of Kamakahi v. ASRM, it agreed to stop recommending or listing dollar amounts or ranges for donor pay. Each program now sets and describes its own pay, using one of four formats:

• Flat per cycle: one stated amount for each completed cycle. IVF Minnesota's $6,700 is an example.
• Range: a low and a high figure, with your amount set by factors the program names, such as location or donation history. Pacific Fertility Center's $10,000 to $20,000 is an example.
• Floor ("starts at"): a minimum with no published top. ConceiveAbilities says "$10,000 is our starting egg donor pay."
• Ceiling ("up to"): a maximum, given either per cycle or as a lifetime total across several cycles. Aspire Fertility Houston says donors can earn "up to $68,000 in total" over six donations.

Flat per-cycle amounts

Flat amounts are the easiest to compare because the page commits to one number. You still need to check what that number covers and when it's paid.

Shady Grove pays its $7,000 in stages: "an initial stipend of $75" after initial screening if accepted, "a stipend of $425" for applicants accepted after Donor Day, and "the final stipend of $6,500" when the cycle is complete. Applicants who aren't accepted after Donor Day get $175. A search snippet of the same page gave first-time pay as "$6,500 to $7,500," so the page has changed over time. Check the current figure with the program.

Ranges, floors and "up to" ceilings

Ranges. Pacific Fertility Center says pay "ranges from $10,000 to $20,000 per cycle" and depends on "donor's location, prior donations, ethnicity, and other factors." Bay Area donors start at $15,000. CCRM Fertility gives "$7,000 to $9,500." MyEggBank gives "$10,000 to $20,000 per cycle, depending on your location and total number of cycles," and says your clinic representative will explain that clinic's own pay program once you're accepted. With a range, the program decides where you fall.

Floors. ConceiveAbilities, Aspire Fertility Houston and Signature Donors all publish $10,000 as their starting pay. A floor gives you the minimum, not the amount most donors actually receive.

Lifetime ceilings. IVF Minnesota says donors can earn up to $40,200, Aspire up to $68,000 and RMG up to $77,000. MyEggBank says "as much as $90,000." Pacific Fertility Center says "cumulative earning potential can be up to $111,000." Growing Generations says a repeat donor "could have the chance to earn up to $150,000+ across multiple cycles by being a highly desired match." The higher figures depend on intended parents wanting you specifically. They are possible outcomes, not promises.

Repeat-cycle pay

Repeat pay follows one of four models. Step schedules raise pay at set points: RMG pays $10,000, then $12,000, $14,000 and $15,000, and Shady Grove pays $7,000, then $7,500, then $8,000. A single repeat tier sets one higher rate for any repeat cycle: $18,000 at Northeast Assisted Fertility Group and "$12,000 or more" at Growing Generations. Fixed increments add the same amount each time: CCRM offers "a $500 increase for repeat donors," and Signature Donors adds $500 "with each subsequent successful donation." No increase: IVF Minnesota pays $6,700 for every cycle.

If you've donated somewhere else, Shady Grove asks for your earlier records and says it will "compensate you based on the number of your previous donations." Most programs cap donors at six cycles, in line with ASRM's view that "it may be prudent to limit the number of stimulated cycles for an individual donor to no more than six." Every lifetime ceiling above is built on that cap.

Expense reimbursement: what's covered separately

Growing Generations has the most detailed list of the pages reviewed. It covers the costs of medical and psychological screening. It says "You will be provided with an independent attorney" and "an egg donation cycle insurance policy" that covers complications. For travel, it provides one coach ticket for screening, plus two at retrieval for you and a companion. It also pays a per-mile rate if you drive, reasonable ground transportation, a meal per diem while traveling, "reasonable and actual parking expenses," and hotel stays when you must stay overnight.

ConceiveAbilities books and pays for airfare, and repays hotel, taxi or rideshare, parking and baggage fees through an escrow service. It adds "a meal allowance of $75 a day for yourself or $125 a day for you and a companion." Pacific Fertility Center pays "per diem expense reimbursements for travel expenses, hotel and lodging (for those traveling from outside of the area)." Northeast Assisted Fertility Group says "All your medical, insurance, and travel (if required) costs are paid for in advance." Egg Bank America lists "a $100 per diem for travel days."

Lost wages are the least consistent item. SIMPLIFY's blog says intended parents reimburse "lost income due to required appointments." Weill Cornell counts lost wages as part of its $15,000 instead of paying them separately. ASRM says programs should "individually adopt and disclose policies regarding coverage of an oocyte-donor's medical costs should she experience complications," so ask to see that policy in writing.

What is not part of the stipend

• Reimbursements. Signature Donors keeps the two apart: compensation is for your time and commitment, while "Reimbursements cover her actual out-of-pocket expenses such as travel, lodging, and meals during the donation process."
• Free screening and testing. Weill Cornell says "All screening and testing is performed free of charge." Aspire provides a genetic testing panel "at no cost to you." These are benefits, not cash.
• Referral rewards. Shady Grove pays $100 when someone you refer is approved and added to its program. Signature Donors pays a $500 referral bonus. Neither counts as donor compensation.
• Non-cash perks. Pacific Fertility Center gives an egg-freezing ("egg saving") benefit with a donor's third egg bank donation.
• Costs that may fall on you. ConceiveAbilities says that if the clinic requires your IUD removed, "it will be at your own expense."
• Taxes. Weill Cornell says compensation "is taxable income that is reported to the IRS." Shady Grove issues a 1099. In Perez v. Commissioner, 144 T.C. 51 (2015), the Tax Court held that the $20,000 Nichelle Perez received from The Donor Source for two cycles was taxable pay for services, not tax-free damages.

Cancelled cycles and payment timing

The New York State Department of Health tells donors: "If a cycle must be canceled before eggs are retrieved, some (but not all) programs provide partial compensation (often based on the number of days of treatment completed). After egg retrieval, you should receive the full, agreed upon amount no matter the number or quality of the eggs."

Wisconsin Fertility Institute publishes a prorated schedule: 5% up to the start of injections, 10% after ovulation induction, 55% after retrieval and 100% after the post-retrieval follow-up. Growing Generations pays $750 when injectable medications start and the rest after retrieval, "regardless of the number of eggs retrieved." SIMPLIFY pays $500 if a cycle is cancelled for a medical reason, and nothing if the donor didn't follow cycle requirements. Programs also pay at different times. NAFG pays in one lump sum right after retrieval. IVF Minnesota pays on retrieval day. CHR pays after the post-cycle checkup.

How to compare two offers

1. 1

   Identify the format

   Is the number flat, a range, a floor or a lifetime ceiling? Compare first-cycle figures with each other, never with lifetime totals.

2. 2

   Get your first-cycle number in writing

   With a range or a floor, ask for the exact amount for you and what decides it.

3. 3

   Ask for the repeat schedule

   Ask whether repeat pay is a step schedule, a single tier, a fixed increment or flat. If it isn't written down, treat it as unknown.

4. 4

   Get the expense list

   Ask which items are paid on top of the stipend and which come out of it: airfare, lodging, meals, mileage, parking, companion travel, lost wages, legal fees, cycle insurance.

5. 5

   Ask about cancellation and complications

   Find out what you're paid at each stage if the cycle stops, and who pays medical costs if complications occur.

6. 6

   Plan for tax

   Treat the stipend as taxable income and keep your records. Ask a tax professional how it applies to you.