TLDR – NO DONATIONS WITHOUT OVULATION TESTS
Some donors are very selective. They have very strict criteria (often financial and/or physical) for who they will donate. And they often charge alot of money. I am not like that. In general, I am willing to try with most women who meet some fairly loose criteria, provided that they do not provide me reasons to suspect that they might not be fit for responsible motherhood, and they are respectful of my time. The ONE THING that I require is ovulation testing. As discussing this takes up an inordinate amount of my time, I have made this page to discuss further, along with starting both my FAQs with it.
What are OPKs and how do I use them?
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.
When should I take OPKs?
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
Why do you require OPKs?
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.
But you are a man, who are you to tell me about my cycle?
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.
But I always ovulate on schedule?
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.
But I have gotten pregnant before without testing?
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.