The hotel and the ride she'd been promised never materialized.
She was mid-cycle, abroad, and "totally helpless, in another country so far from home."
You've done a cycle already, so you know how fast that happens.
Here's what to write into the contract before you board.
The Ride That Never Came
One donor discovered her agency was a scam in the middle of her trip.
The hotel and the transport simply didn't exist.
No car. No room. Nobody nearby to call.
Everything she'd trusted someone else to handle was gone at once.
Forum posts tend to skip past that part.
It's the part that matters most.
Your first cycle probably taught you why.
You Already Know What Trust Costs
You accepted what the agency proposed.
You arrived at appointments without knowing what would happen, and nobody taught you to self-inject.
Then came the flight.
Four hours after retrieval, "shoved on a 17-hour flight," in pain throughout.
You had no leverage because you'd asked for nothing.
A promise wouldn't have fixed that either.
A Promise Is Not a Clause
An agency can tell you the trip is "fully paid for."
That sentence sounds generous.
It isn't written anywhere you can enforce.
Consider one donor who completed a full cycle and produced 16 eggs.
Five months later, the promised $10,000 still hadn't arrived.
Without paper, a promise is only a mood.
Some donors have already put the fix on paper.
The Clause One Donor Added
After her rough first flight, one donor changed her approach.
In a later contract, she wrote in the right to reject a specific flight itinerary.
She had that power before she agreed to travel.
That's what you wish you'd asked for.
It's one line of contract text.
The hotel and the ride deserve the same treatment.
Put the Hotel and the Ride in Writing
Ask which hotel, which car, and who answers the phone when the car doesn't come.
Ask what "fully paid for" includes in practice.
Hotel class, meal budget, ground transport, and companion flights are all separate questions.
Donors say they want an itemized expense report.
They also want clarity on what counts as reimbursement and what counts as pay.
If you're a student watching every dollar, this matters most.
Get both before you fly.
A Companion Is a Backup Plan
Solo donors manage medication, food, and recovery alone in a city they've never seen.
Loneliness around retrieval is a real complaint.
Don't assume a companion is covered.
Ask for it as its own line.
If you want the trip to feel like more than a medical errand, a companion makes it better.
Then there's the calendar, which can hurt you quietly.
A Longer Stay Protects Your Body
One donor had a legal stay of only seven days.
Her medication doses were escalated to fit the window, and she developed OHSS.
Ask upfront exactly how long you'll be abroad.
Ask whether the stay can be extended.
A rushed timeline is a logistics failure that lands in your body.
Even a good timeline can't cover every failure, though.
Write Down What Happens If Things Go Wrong
One donor was nearly stranded with no clear medical care plan.
A fellow donor on another trip was detained and deported mid-cycle.
Another cycle was cancelled after five eggs, and she was first refused any compensation.
Ask who pays, who transports you, and where you'd be treated.
Get the answers in the contract, with a name attached.
Then comes the question you're probably asking.
Will Asking Get You Dropped
You might worry that pushing on terms gets you matched with a stiffer clinic.
I can't promise it never happens.
But look at what the request tells you.
An agency that balks at itinerary approval has shown you how it behaves when a ride fails.
You'd rather learn that at the contract than at the hotel.
One donor switched agencies for her second cycle in the same country, and it went far better.
Forums like We Are Egg Donors and invitra exist so you can check for nonpayment stories first.
Once the terms hold, look at the money itself.
Check the Money Before You Board
Reimbursement meant to cover travel and time off can end up "nearly depleted."
One international trip was quoted at under $1,200 total.
Treat compensation, travel, and meaning as three separate line items.
Ask what each one is called, what each one covers, and what happens to each if the cycle stops.
Then put every answer on one page.
Write It Down Before You Book Anything
Itinerary approval. A named hotel and ride. A covered companion.
A stay long enough for your medication. A medical plan. Payment terms.
Open your last contract next to a blank page.
Start with the flight.