We hope that 2010 is treating you all well so far. If you have been to our website lately you may have noticed some changes that were in place for several days, but at this point, the site is mostly back to normal. The redesign we were working on turned out to be less user friendly then what we already had so in an effort to accommodate our need to post a search, we returned to our old set-up.
One change that remains in place is a new webhosting company and email provider. We were experiencing intermittent problems with our email before the change and have had a few emails from applicants wondering about the status of the search they applied for. Because of this, if you have not received an email from us regarding your status, we encourage you to contact us. Also, while it is not our usual policy to email applicants multiple times to procure additional information, we will be doing this for anyone who applied to the search that ran through November and December of last year.
We will be listing a search in the next few days, likely by Saturday morning, so we encourage you all to check the website then to see if you might be interested in applying. There will be a few changes to the application, just to shorten it a bit, but if you have applied previously, you are welcome to submit the old version.
As always, please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns.
Elite Donors
Creating Happy Families . . . One Match at a Time
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
New Website and Search Coming Soon
We just wanted to let everyone know that we are working on updating our website. We may have the website down for a few days while we make the transition, but we are hoping that will not be necessary. We have noticed a few glitches with our current email system and are hoping to have that worked out with the new website as well. Additionally, a few applicants have experienced problems with our pdf's which should also be resolved. In the upcoming months we hope to be able to break our application down into smaller parts so it is less time consuming for potential donors to apply. Since we do not maintain a donor database, our goal is to have several phases of each search so that applicants fill out information proportional to the Intended Parents interest in her.
We hope to have the website in place with a new search listed within the next two weeks. The updates to the application process will be ongoing so please let us know if you have any suggestions.
Elite Donors
Creating Happy Families . . . One Match at a Time
We hope to have the website in place with a new search listed within the next two weeks. The updates to the application process will be ongoing so please let us know if you have any suggestions.
Elite Donors
Creating Happy Families . . . One Match at a Time
Thursday, January 14, 2010
January Update
Please note our office is officially closed to new searches for January so we can finalize all outstanding searches. If you email or call during this month, please be patient as we are returning messages, it is just taking us a bit longer. By the end of the month we will have contacted all applicants about the searches they applied for. If you have not received an email by February 1, please feel free to email or call us so we can double check your status for you. Please note, because of the volume of applications we receive, we generally do not make multiple attempts to contact an applicant.
Please check our site again in mid February for our newest search posting.
EliteDonors
Creating Happy Families . . . One Match at a Time
Please check our site again in mid February for our newest search posting.
EliteDonors
Creating Happy Families . . . One Match at a Time
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Holiday Happenings
Again we apologize for our lack of Blog postings. While starting a Blog is something our office was very excited about, it has become very difficult to keep up in the midst of all our office activity. Our Blog had to take a back seat to the donations we have been coordinating and as such we have begun to wonder if having a Blog is a commitment we can keep. For now, we will keep our Blog active and make one more attempt to have it be a relevant source of information for our program. As always, please remember that you can contact our office at any time for any information you are searching for.
At this point, other than our currently listed search, all but one of our searches have been concluded. We have contacted all applicants from those searches to either request extra information or eliminate them from the search. We had quite a number of emails returned. While some were returned as a result of a full mailbox, the majority were returned because applicants used a school email address that was no longer active. Please make sure to keep our office updated with your current contact information to make sure you receive our notifications. Also, please make sure to check your spam folder if you have not added our email address to your list of contacts. For our current search and our one search awaiting a selection, no decisions will be made until early January 2010.
We do have a new disclaimer on our website relating to the egg donor selection process which (as of January 1, 2010) we are required to post along with our ads. This is a new law put in place in the State of California and affects agencies which offer compensation amounts larger than that suggested by the ASRM guidelines. We hope to discuss this disclaimer more in-depth in the future so you can better understand how it applies to our program.
EliteDonors
Creating Happy Families . . . One Match at a Time
At this point, other than our currently listed search, all but one of our searches have been concluded. We have contacted all applicants from those searches to either request extra information or eliminate them from the search. We had quite a number of emails returned. While some were returned as a result of a full mailbox, the majority were returned because applicants used a school email address that was no longer active. Please make sure to keep our office updated with your current contact information to make sure you receive our notifications. Also, please make sure to check your spam folder if you have not added our email address to your list of contacts. For our current search and our one search awaiting a selection, no decisions will be made until early January 2010.
We do have a new disclaimer on our website relating to the egg donor selection process which (as of January 1, 2010) we are required to post along with our ads. This is a new law put in place in the State of California and affects agencies which offer compensation amounts larger than that suggested by the ASRM guidelines. We hope to discuss this disclaimer more in-depth in the future so you can better understand how it applies to our program.
EliteDonors
Creating Happy Families . . . One Match at a Time
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
What's Going On at Elite Donors
Well, we have tried to update our Blog more frequently, but it hasn't worked as well as we hoped and we apologize. While we would like to post on a more regular basis, we find it hard when we are in the midst of a donor search. We promise to keep working on our goal of bringing you more information on our office and our searches.
Right now, we are still trying to finalize a few donor selections. We thank you all for your patience and would like to remind you that you are welcome to contact us directly if you are looking for your application status. So you are aware, we try to accurately gauge the length of each campaign when estimating for our applicants how long it might be until they hear from us. Often, our clients come to us anxious to make a quick selection so they can proceed with expanding their family. What we sometimes find as the process goes on is that it takes the intended parents much longer than anticipated to make a decision. We apologize for that, but we can only pass along the information that is provided by our clients. Again, we encourage you to drop us a line if you have any questions or concerns at any time during the application process, or if you just want to check in.
We are anticipating several selections being made this month so if you are a pending applicant, please make sure you check your spam/bulk mail folder so you don't miss an email from us.
We will have another search starting shortly and we look forward to helping another family fulfill their dreams.
Elite Donors
Creating Happy Families . . . One Match at a Time!
Right now, we are still trying to finalize a few donor selections. We thank you all for your patience and would like to remind you that you are welcome to contact us directly if you are looking for your application status. So you are aware, we try to accurately gauge the length of each campaign when estimating for our applicants how long it might be until they hear from us. Often, our clients come to us anxious to make a quick selection so they can proceed with expanding their family. What we sometimes find as the process goes on is that it takes the intended parents much longer than anticipated to make a decision. We apologize for that, but we can only pass along the information that is provided by our clients. Again, we encourage you to drop us a line if you have any questions or concerns at any time during the application process, or if you just want to check in.
We are anticipating several selections being made this month so if you are a pending applicant, please make sure you check your spam/bulk mail folder so you don't miss an email from us.
We will have another search starting shortly and we look forward to helping another family fulfill their dreams.
Elite Donors
Creating Happy Families . . . One Match at a Time!
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
What to Do When you Can't Answer a Question on the Application
If you have read our application page, you know that we say if you do not know an answer, please do not guess. What happens when our application deadline is looming and you find yourself faced with a number of questions you can't answer? Is it worth it to even submit an application? In a word, yes. However, in order to make your application stand out to the intended parent(s) there are certain steps you can take depending on what information you are missing.
For example, one section of the application that immediately draws the intended parents' attention is the section regarding test scores. While our clients all know that test scores are not the sole indicator of a person's intelligence, it is one tool the intended parents use to start narrowing down their candidates. There are a few solutions to this problem. The first solution is to indicate a range if you do not remember the exact score. For example, if you can't remember if your SAT score was 1310 or 1360, it is fine to write 1310-1360. Another option is to indicate that the score is unknown but that it was high enough to qualify you for a number of universities and then list the names of several of them. A third option is to indicate that you have contacted the testing bureau to request a copy of your scores and that you will provide them when they arrive. This lets the intended parents know you are willing and able to provide the scores.
Another section that is frequently missing information is the family background section. Often many applicants are not aware of the education, occupation and physical characteristics of their grandparents. While this section is not as likely to standout when items are left blank like the test score section, it is still important to our clients or the questions would not be asked. For this section it is best to include a short note with your application indicating whether or not you can obtain the information and if you can, when you will be able to provide it. If you are unable to ever provide the information, it won't necessarily rule you out, but it will go a long way with the intended parents if you address the situation in an email so they understand you are taking the application seriously.
There are certain sections of the application that should never be left blank. These are the questions that deal with your personal traits, medical history and educational background. If you do not answer these, the intended parents are likely to think you have something you do not want to disclose.
Finally, when in doubt about the completeness of your application, include a cover letter. A personal letter to the intended parents addressing any missing information will definitely make your application standout. In addition, it will prevent any assumptions that are made as to why your application is not complete. What intended parents want to see is a true desire to provide as much information as possible and a willingness to obtain information you don't readily have on hand. If you see our ad the day before an application deadline, it is perfectly reasonable to indicate a time constraint as the reason you are missing some information. However, please do not take advantage of this and make sure the remainder of your application is as detailed as possible.
Elite Donors
Creating Happy Families . . . One Match at a Time!
For example, one section of the application that immediately draws the intended parents' attention is the section regarding test scores. While our clients all know that test scores are not the sole indicator of a person's intelligence, it is one tool the intended parents use to start narrowing down their candidates. There are a few solutions to this problem. The first solution is to indicate a range if you do not remember the exact score. For example, if you can't remember if your SAT score was 1310 or 1360, it is fine to write 1310-1360. Another option is to indicate that the score is unknown but that it was high enough to qualify you for a number of universities and then list the names of several of them. A third option is to indicate that you have contacted the testing bureau to request a copy of your scores and that you will provide them when they arrive. This lets the intended parents know you are willing and able to provide the scores.
Another section that is frequently missing information is the family background section. Often many applicants are not aware of the education, occupation and physical characteristics of their grandparents. While this section is not as likely to standout when items are left blank like the test score section, it is still important to our clients or the questions would not be asked. For this section it is best to include a short note with your application indicating whether or not you can obtain the information and if you can, when you will be able to provide it. If you are unable to ever provide the information, it won't necessarily rule you out, but it will go a long way with the intended parents if you address the situation in an email so they understand you are taking the application seriously.
There are certain sections of the application that should never be left blank. These are the questions that deal with your personal traits, medical history and educational background. If you do not answer these, the intended parents are likely to think you have something you do not want to disclose.
Finally, when in doubt about the completeness of your application, include a cover letter. A personal letter to the intended parents addressing any missing information will definitely make your application standout. In addition, it will prevent any assumptions that are made as to why your application is not complete. What intended parents want to see is a true desire to provide as much information as possible and a willingness to obtain information you don't readily have on hand. If you see our ad the day before an application deadline, it is perfectly reasonable to indicate a time constraint as the reason you are missing some information. However, please do not take advantage of this and make sure the remainder of your application is as detailed as possible.
Elite Donors
Creating Happy Families . . . One Match at a Time!
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Deciding to Donate Your Eggs
In the last few months we have had an increase in the number of applicants who have changed their mind about donating in the midst of the application process. This can be very unnerving for the intended parents for two reasons. The first reason is that it is highly likely that the intended parents have already reviewed your application and have mentally decided you may be a strong possible match. This can lead to great disappointment when you change your mind. Secondly, each time an applicant changes their mind about donating, it causes the intended parents great concern that the donor they ultimately select may change her mind during the donation process, leaving the intended parents heartbroken.
We understand that it is an applicant's prerogative to change her mind about such a serious decision, and we would never want an applicant to go forward with a donation she wasn't comfortable with. We also appreciate a change of heart that is made before entering an agreement to donate. However, we would like to strongly encourage our potential applicants to thoroughly consider what donating your eggs entails before submitting an application. Of course, we realize that the large compensation offered is quite an enticement to apply however, please consider the huge commitment involved. There are both physical and emotional ramifications to your decision to donate. It is quite easy to research the egg donation process online and we remain ready and available to answer any questions you may have. While we often have short deadlines, if you really do not understand what you are applying for, I would recommend you take your time to investigate the same before applying. You are welcome to email us to see if we can provide you with an extension to our posted deadline and alternatively, you can always wait for an upcoming search. We offer quite a few searches each year.
In summary, deciding to donate your eggs is a wonderful and highly appreciated gift to all of the intended parents out there, but it is not for everyone and we thank you for taking your time to thoroughly consider the same.
Elite Donors
Creating Happy Families . . . One Match at a Time!
We understand that it is an applicant's prerogative to change her mind about such a serious decision, and we would never want an applicant to go forward with a donation she wasn't comfortable with. We also appreciate a change of heart that is made before entering an agreement to donate. However, we would like to strongly encourage our potential applicants to thoroughly consider what donating your eggs entails before submitting an application. Of course, we realize that the large compensation offered is quite an enticement to apply however, please consider the huge commitment involved. There are both physical and emotional ramifications to your decision to donate. It is quite easy to research the egg donation process online and we remain ready and available to answer any questions you may have. While we often have short deadlines, if you really do not understand what you are applying for, I would recommend you take your time to investigate the same before applying. You are welcome to email us to see if we can provide you with an extension to our posted deadline and alternatively, you can always wait for an upcoming search. We offer quite a few searches each year.
In summary, deciding to donate your eggs is a wonderful and highly appreciated gift to all of the intended parents out there, but it is not for everyone and we thank you for taking your time to thoroughly consider the same.
Elite Donors
Creating Happy Families . . . One Match at a Time!
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