Ok, I heard back from my nurse and have been given my schedule for the next month. I stopped taking my pills last week to get my period, and then started back on the pills so I'm now in sync with the Intended Mother. I have to stop my pills again in a couple weeks to get my period once more. Then on my period, I start the stimulation injections. Most donors will begin Lupron injections before stopping the birth control pills and continue Lupron through the stimulation. Boston IVF seems to take a different approach and doesn't use Lupron. My medication protocol is called a "straight-stimulation cycle." This protocol means I only start injections after my period.

Being an out-of-state donor, this is how my straight-stim schedule looks (and note this is MY schedule, this will not necessarily be the same as yours - this is just so you get an idea of the time table):

1 month before stim: started fresh birth control pills after getting period

1 week before stim: stop birth control pills

3 days before stim: get period

Day1: start injections (take daily from here until retrieval) I should receive my initial payment of my compensation today. This is like a deposit so in case this cycle is canceled before the egg retrieval, I at least got some compensation for starting the hormone injections.

Day3: local monitoring with blood draw (other clinics will also want ultrasound)

Day5: local monitoring with blood draw (other clinics will also want ultrasound)

Day6: fly to Boston, MA

Day7-10 get blood work and vaginal ultrasound daily at recipient's clinic

Day8-12: receive instruction to take ovulation trigger shot

Days 10-14: egg retrieval. Remainder of compensation will be sent upon confirmation of successful egg retrieval. Day after Retrieval: fly back home

My injections are being overnighted to me right now from the clinic's pharmacy. As soon as I receive it, I need to put several of the injections into the refrigerator - the Gonal-F pen, and the HCG "trigger" shot. My flights with my husband and hotel have already been purchased for us by the agency. Everything else, I take care of on my credit card and keep all the receipts so I can be reimbursed.

Lastly, I just signed the legal agreement with the IP (Intended Parents). Their attorney wrote it, and then I have a separate attorney that represents me separately. I made sure to check for items like: compensation amount is correct, travel reimbursements, waiver of my rights and responsibilities to the retrieved eggs and potential children, protection that I am not financially responsible if the cycle is canceled due to complications or for any health risks the child may be diagnosed with in the future, how donor and couple may communicate with each other if there are important genetic risks to report, that the compensation is for my time, inconvenience, and pain & suffering - that I am in no way selling body parts or bodily fluids (because this is illegal), among other items. When you receive your legal contract, just make sure you read through it carefully, don't skim thinking it's all okay. My attorney called me and found some text that he didn't like and didn't protect me well enough, so we agreed to ask the couple's attorney to add a couple words that would make the interpretation of the text clear.

So, everything is set and in order. Just counting down the days now.