FAQS about Ovulation Testing (OPKS)

Ovulation predictor kits (OPKS) are test strips that recipients should take at least daily to determine when to try an insemination. They identify your fertile window by measuring the lutenizing hormone (LH) in your urine. LH surges before ovulation, triggering the release of the egg. When it surges and both lines are dark then there is a good chance (maybe 1 in 5) that insemination will work. Other times, the chances are much lower.  

You should take an OPK at least daily, at the same time, once your period ends. Keep taking it till next period starts. It is probably best to do at least twice daily around when you expect to peak.  Record the results somewhere, such as in an app, so that you can uncover patterns from month to month and better predict peak. You don't need anything fancy or expensive, the cheapest brand from amazon or walmart is fine.  And if I happen to be your donor, please share the pics with me so I can both predict your schedule and know that you are serious. 

Insemination has to be well timed to have much chance of succeeding. Accordingly, I require recipients to share ovulation testing with me and schedule inseminations according to how those tests develop. I DO NOT DONATE TO A CALENDAR. If you are not close to peak than it is just not likely to work, and a waste of both our time and energy. Some ladies use apps to guestimate, but these are quite unreliable, so I insist on actual ovulation tests. You don't need anything fancy, cheap paper strips such as the easy@home brand available on amazon, walmart, or any pharmacy, will do just fine.

Sometimes recipients say things like this. It is true that I am a man, have never ovulated or had a cycle, and will never know how it feels. It is also true that I have participated in more cycles as a donor than any woman will have in her lifetime. Two things I have learned from those experiences are  a) ladies are unlikely to get pregnant if insemination is poorly timed b) ovulation frequently does not occur when women expect.

Great, that will make planning a bit easier! The only way to know this is an actually test with opks (or another method like BBT) though. I wish I had a dollar for every time a woman said she was sure that she knew when she would peak, and then wound up being completely off. That might not be enough to make me wealthy, but it would be a ton of dollars.

That is great. But as you get older pregnancy unfortunately becomes less likely. So regardless of your previous experience I require tests. And unless you work in a fertility clinic, I have been involved in more pregnancies than you. No testing, no donation, period.