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Choosing an Egg Donor? Start Here
65 Plays8 days ago
Choosing an egg donor can feel overwhelming — especially when you’re navigating cost, timelines, and decisions that feel deeply personal.
In this episode, Egg Donor Matching Coordinator Katie G. breaks down what intended parents are really facing at the beginning of the process, from sticker shock and insurance confusion to the emotional weight of finding the right donor.
We also discuss:
fresh vs. frozen egg donation
what actually happens behind the scenes during matching
common misconceptions around donor cycles
how agencies support intended parents through the process
and how to move forward with more clarity and less fear
If you’re considering egg donation and wondering where to even begin, this episode is a grounded, honest look at what to expect and how to navigate the process with confidence.
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Egg Donation Process
00:00:00
Speaker
If you're in the middle of choosing an egg donor or even just starting to think about it, chances are you've felt overwhelmed at least once. Sticker shock, frozen versus fresh, feeling like you can't quite find yourself in a donor, wondering if this is moving too fast or too slow. There's a lot to navigate and it doesn't always feel clear where to focus.
Role of the Egg Donor Matching Coordinator
00:00:24
Speaker
Today, I'm sitting down with our egg donor matching coordinator, Katie G, who is on the phone with intended parents every every single day, guiding them through these exact decisions.
00:00:36
Speaker
We're talking through the most common fears and roadblocks families are facing right now, and helping you better understand what actually matters so you can move forward with more clarity and less pressure.
00:00:51
Speaker
Katie, you are on the phone with intended parents every single day. Every day. But when someone is just starting their egg donor search, what fears or roadblocks come up the most?
00:01:07
Speaker
That's such a great question. um i think one of the biggest obstacles is overwhelm. I feel like um most intended parents come in fearful because of the overwhelm. It it is an emotional journey yeah mixed with the unknown, which creates overwhelm.
00:01:32
Speaker
yeah And I really think that is the biggest roadblock coming in. Yeah. How do bite size that? So I always tell families, it is my job to separate the facts from the feelings.
00:01:48
Speaker
And it can feel really hard for them at first because their feelings are valid. Yeah. They've been through a lot. And I feel like by taking it step by step,
00:02:00
Speaker
By removing the overwhelm, by separating the facts from the feelings, we start to bring in confidence. yeah um It becomes more clear.
00:02:11
Speaker
We create a plan. And that's where it can be really empowering for intended families to start moving forward. Sure. Absolutely.
Misunderstandings and Costs in Egg Donation
00:02:21
Speaker
One of those you know steps is just the cost.
00:02:24
Speaker
yes Everyone who wants to know the cost. um And I feel like we're seeing kind of two extremes. you know We have intended parents who have no idea what to expect or experience, or you have you know others that have insurance coverage, but they're still feeling overwhelmed and they're trying to track everything. What would you say are maybe some of the biggest misconceptions when it comes to the cost of egg donation?
00:02:49
Speaker
I think the biggest misconceptions are what exactly the agency is covering versus what the clinic is covering. And then also understanding that it is expensive. Sure. um But it is also affordable.
00:03:07
Speaker
And I think one of the biggest separators from our agency is that we don't require a large down payment and that you can start moving forward in your match.
00:03:20
Speaker
for a smaller down payment than a lot of other agencies may require. And so just allowing us to have that conversation to give us the facts so that you can start figuring out your next steps and allowing us to help you navigate that. Sure, absolutely. Speak into that a little bit more.
00:03:37
Speaker
um So i think, again, going back to just the unknown and not understanding what all goes into the cost. Sure. That we are covering a lot of things within our agency fees.
00:03:52
Speaker
We're taking care of you. We're making sure that... um behind the scenes that things are aligning well, that it's a quality match up front. It's not just a transactional experience. Like we are sitting in that journey with you and guiding and supporting you.
00:04:08
Speaker
And we're doing it with what we feel like is the most affordable route while also supplying the best customer service, customer service and experience for our clients. Absolutely. Yeah.
00:04:23
Speaker
I think it can be so easy to hear some of those words or, you know, for intended parents approach this as a, you know, am needing something and you are supplying me something. Mm hmm. But this is very much not a transactional scenario.
00:04:44
Speaker
It's not. And that's one thing i i love about our agency so much is we go along on the experience and the ride and the journey with the families. It is not a, hey, you need this, we have this, here you go.
00:04:58
Speaker
um What you're not going to see are all of the behind the scenes things that are happening to ensure the quality match to ensure that there's alignment within the the intended family and the donor yeah and the clinic.
00:05:14
Speaker
yeah Because it's not just, okay, I found my donor. It's not. That is not what we are here for. Again, that feels very transactional. It's like, yeah hey, we have donors. You need one. Let us help you. It is truly, Whitney, the experience. And the little things that our agency does so well that they have already we've already set in place that you probably won't see that's going to make this feel like, oh, that was that was pretty simple. It's not...
00:05:45
Speaker
That didn't just happen. Right. We have purposefully created that so that you can take something that maybe you didn't choose. Maybe this most families come in. This isn't their choice.
00:05:58
Speaker
They're they're put into the situation. And we want to create a beautiful journey for all families, but especially those who didn't necessarily choose this route. Yeah. Yeah.
Frozen vs Fresh Egg Donation Cycles
00:06:10
Speaker
At the very beginning, you know, again, where you have intended parents coming to you and most of them, like you said, have kind of been put in this position and they're kind of presented with probably like two options in this idea of fresh versus frozen. And what does that even mean? and now you've got images of the refrigerator in your head and, you know, just all of those things. Can you kind of, you know, just speak into maybe a frozen cycle, egg banks, and walk us through maybe why some families choose a fresh cycle and some families and just what are the benefits of that approach? Sure, sure.
00:06:49
Speaker
First, there's not a right or wrong. Yeah. Like we fully support a family doing what is best for them. We as an agent agency choose to be a fresh donor agency because we truly believe that that gives families the best opportunity to create their happy family. um So again, there's not a right or wrong, but the the biggest difference, the if you're going to go the frozen route, just for educational purposes, what you understand is you're taking one donor.
00:07:18
Speaker
They are, their their eggs are being retrieved. Those eggs are being split between different families and you're getting a set number of eggs. Sure. Sure. So right off the bat, you have one donor.
00:07:32
Speaker
Eggs are split between multiple families. You have a limited number of eggs, which gives you um limited number of embryo chances. Right, because egg amount does not equal correct embryo amount. egg ah most Most 95% of the time, 99% of the time, the eggs you receive that are retrieved do not equal.
00:07:55
Speaker
the embryos that you're going to get. i would say, i believe statistically, six eggs that you may receive at a frozen bank, you're going to get one, potentially one viable embryo. and So then there's the freezing of the eggs.
00:08:12
Speaker
That's another step in the frozen egg bank is they're immediately frozen. So they have to be thawed. And to go through that is just another another opportunity for there to be an error. It's just another process that you're putting the eggs through.
00:08:27
Speaker
So that's, again, something that we, on the fresh side, which what happens on the opposite side is you have a donor. You get to keep all of the eggs retrieved. So if there are 25 eggs retrieved, again, that does not equal 25 embryos, but it gives you a chance to create more embryos on average Our agency with fresh donors gets six viable embryos.
00:08:51
Speaker
That's six opportunities for you to have a baby. That gives you more chances for multiple transfers, but also a sibling journey. um Once eggs are retrieved in the fresh egg, they're immediately and you immediately create embryos, and then the embryos are frozen.
00:09:09
Speaker
but that So that skips a whole step of having to thaw the eggs. Right. And so that's, again, why we go back to believing that fresh gives you the best opportunity. You did such a great job of saying, you know, there is no right path. There's just a path. How do you help intended parents discern what is the right path for them?
00:09:32
Speaker
Great question. It goes back to guiding and supporting. That is my role here is to help separate the feelings from the facts. And i my intimate families will hear that all the time. Like your feelings are valid. Yeah.
00:09:49
Speaker
But they also can really um skew. what it looks like to move forward it it brings in more fear and my goal is to help separate all of that and to bring clarity into your decisions where there's not the fear of it's not a ah decision that you have to make based out of fear of the future of your future family but of empowerment of like I fully understand what's happening and And I feel good about the choices that we're making because there has been clarity. There has been transparency. I know what's happening. I think by presenting the facts, by bringing clarity, it may not be this route with our agency. And that's okay. If you walk away feeling educated, there's transparency, and you feel empowered, then that is the right move for you. Yeah, yeah.
Insurance and Cost Considerations
00:10:41
Speaker
I think, again, just the importance of education. You don't know what you don't know. You don't know what you don't know. The fear of the unknown is going to, i always say, paralysis by analysis. Sure. There is so much information. There is so much overwhelm. and There is so much fear of the unknown.
00:10:57
Speaker
My job is to guide and support, to break down all the barriers that you think could happen. Sure. And bring in what I know can happen. Yeah, yeah. Circling back to you you know again, cost is you know it's such a um it's motivator. it is you know can really It can be one of the big things to make your decision for you. And know have a lot of intended parents, even in the surrogacy program, who are like, how how how can we get my insurance to cover this? Or why why don't you know you as don't you take insurance? Well, I think insurance is always going to overwhelm. but Yeah. We appreciate it when we need it, but it is another just kind of overwhelming step. We do not accept insurance, um but what we do have providers that we have partnered with where we're able to, the Intune family is able to pay our agency. Our agency provides the paperwork for the insurance companies to refund them. And um I think it's a fantastic option. And we're seeing now more and more where insurance is covering fresh donors. So it's definitely worth having a conversation with your insurance company to see what they cover exactly. And then allowing us to give you more clarity on what that looks like if you were to move forward with our agency. Yeah, absolutely. Because even if, you know, your insurance does cover a frozen, you know, cycle, like you said,
00:12:30
Speaker
Maybe that's only one embryo. Correct. Yeah. So math is mathing. Math isn't mathing. We do. And we're going to cheer you on. If you go the frozen route, I i hope and pray that it brings you one your happy family. But it is sad how many intended families come back to us after a frozen cycle hasn't worked.
00:12:51
Speaker
and And they, hindsight's they say, I wish we would have just gone this route in the first place. Mm-hmm. Because now it's even more.
00:13:02
Speaker
It's even more financially, a more burden. Sure. Financially. so Sure. But again, that education yeah is is so is so important in in the front end.
Understanding the Egg Donation Timeline
00:13:13
Speaker
Of course, everyone is always asking about timeline. We often say the process can take four months for families. Um, you know, but of course that can feel really, really, really long.
00:13:25
Speaker
Why does it take that amount of time? What's the why behind that? What's going on? lunch What a great question. I think that's probably one of the, i don't want to say disappointments, but when a family comes to me, like their hope is immediate. Oh yeah. They want to get started yesterday. Like we, we need this to happen tomorrow. Yeah.
00:13:43
Speaker
And Unfortunately, it is not that instant gratification. It does take three, four, potentially five months. um But what you may feel like is moving slow is very calculated, um intentional movement behind the scenes. Mm-hmm.
00:14:03
Speaker
We as an agency are working extremely hard to ensure that this is a quality match, that that you align with the donor perfectly, that genetically, that the donor, we are putting her through pre-screening so that we know before you ever invest heavily into this process, that you're a quality match. And that's what you maybe don't see.
00:14:26
Speaker
And again, we're working in coordination with your clinic to ensure that you are, again, have the best quality match up front. So we're going through any kind of initial pre-screening. We're making sure that she is genetically clear for you, that she has psych evaluations if she needs genetic consults. We're doing all of that. That's the first four to six weeks. We're pre-screening.
00:14:51
Speaker
Most clinics want to see the donor one time before you're ever, um again, officially moving forward. And then you have to get into legal contracts, which we all would love for that to go faster, but that's going to take two to three weeks.
00:15:05
Speaker
And then we get into the donor's meds. And you just can't rush that. Right. We don't want to rush that because it's an investment and this is a this is a big deal. um Slow is smooth and smooth is fast. Yes. And so while it may feel slow, we are ensuring that it is a smooth journey for you. And in return, it's going to be fast because you're not going to have to continue to search for that donor that you've been looking for. Yeah, absolutely.
00:15:39
Speaker
Once you, you know, again, another decision that I think intended parents maybe don't necessarily know about is this idea of known and unidentified. Yeah. Can you speak into that a little bit? Yeah. So one thing I really appreciate about our agency is the fact that we offer different types of cycles. Yeah. And that's something you're not going to get also with a frozen. We offer three types of cycles. We have the unidentified cycle.
00:16:09
Speaker
This used to be anonymous. That is not a word we use and anymore. exist All donors know that if one day they want to be found. they will be found so unidentified which just means you do not share contact information with the donor then we have the known cycle and this is something that some agencies do not offer but this is where you actually get to exchange contact information with the donor Both the donor and the intended family go through a little pre-screening. Then you come together virtually with a licensed counselor. This meeting is to set expectations of what that relationship looks like moving forward. Sometimes it's, hey, we just want to meet you and say hello. Sometimes that's, we want we want access to you. Sometimes it's, we would love to send a Christmas card. And then sometimes it turns into just a genuine friendship and relationship. um But it gives you the opportunity to set your own boundaries there. Mm-hmm. And then we have one that's called ID release. And this for a lot of families feels like kind of the safe route. It's in a middle of the other two. And so it's unidentified. But when the child born from a donation turns 18, they can contact our agency and we would release the donor's contact information to them. um
00:17:18
Speaker
and So we get a lot of families who may not choose the known route, but they're so appreciative that it's something that we offer. They think it's really neat that we give families the opportunity to make that decision for themselves. Yeah.
00:17:31
Speaker
Yeah. why is that so important? ah Because I think there's so many things that are out of control families don't feel like they're in control of that this gives them an opportunity to have that control. And it gives them a a say into something that maybe they don't always have a say in. And I think for a lot of families, it's important for them to have the opportunity to make decisions.
00:17:59
Speaker
decisions for their future children. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Because it's not just about a relationship with that person. Will we? Won't we? It's medical records. yeah What's best?
00:18:10
Speaker
What's best for my child? And but that doesn't mean that the known cycle is best for you. It just, again, gives you the opportunity to make a decision that's best for your family that you're not forced into. Absolutely.
00:18:23
Speaker
You kind of go back to, you or you you mentioned just this sense of
Choosing the Right Donor
00:18:28
Speaker
control. You know, I feel like so many intended parents when they're looking at a database, moms in particular, you know, they're kind of struggling and they they can't quite, you know, kind of quote, find themselves, you know, in in a donor.
00:18:42
Speaker
How do you, again, i know you separate the facts from the feelings, but how do you navigate those feelings? Yeah. It's tough. It is tough because I want to respect the families. I want to help um understand where they're coming from. yeah And I don't ah don't want to say that theyre their desires are wrong. No. and And so I always help guide by listening first. I want to hear you.
00:19:09
Speaker
i want to know what is important to you. And then if what you say isn't necessary, if you don't find the perfect donor, if you're not seeing what you're looking for, then what's really important?
00:19:24
Speaker
Can we make some changes? Can we broaden our pool a little bit? is it and Is it just, does she have to be five seven And I, you know, I i am am careful because, again, I don't i don't want anyone to feel that it their feelings aren't valid. But I'm i'm five eight My husband's 6'1". I have a 10-year-old that's going to be five foot Because my mother-in-law is five foot and And genetics are wild. Yeah. And so i i just want families to understand that you can set as many filters for a donor as you want. But at the end of the day, like what's most important?
00:20:02
Speaker
Is it really important that that they're 5'7"? Is it really important that they graduated college? Is it really important that their hair is brown? Mm-hmm.
00:20:13
Speaker
Or is it important that they feel they feel like they're a good fit in your family? Is it important that you have a baby in your arms at the end of this journey? yeah Even if they are a little shorter than you had hoped for, or a little taller than you had hoped for. But it is difficult to navigate because you do want to respect everyone. but At the end of the day, I feel like I'm able to have a really good relationship with the families coming in because it's not transactional. It is an intimate experience. yeah And I want to treat it as such. I want to create that relationship with family so that they know I care and that I know what they're looking for and I can help them in that. and um So by creating those relationships, I feel like I'm allowed to speak into some things and to give feedback. um
00:21:00
Speaker
Yeah. And every family is different. So I'm not going to handle everyone the same way. But those are just things that we typically go through and say, okay, like... We're not finding what we what we really want, but what can we do differently? Sure. Sure.
00:21:15
Speaker
And that trust is built. Yes. And you're not you're not looking for your replacement. You're not being replaced. You're not. You're not. you you are You are looking for an addition You're looking for someone to just love.
00:21:28
Speaker
And at the of that's what's going to happen. We, we to this day, yeah know Katie, and our president and CEO, she's been in this industry for a long time, coming on 20 years now. And she's never had someone said, hey, take this baby back. Nope. Doesn't look like me. The eyes are not right. You know, never. They're not tall enough. They're not athletic enough. like And so at the end of the day, I think just from reframing, like what is most important. Yeah.
00:21:53
Speaker
Yeah. It's funny. i I was talking to your intended dad and one of the things that was so important to him was um was red hair and that she loves sushi. He was like, I just I wanted a sushi buddy. OK. Yeah. Yeah. He got the red hair. We're still awaiting, you know, the sushi aspect of things, but it can come. yeah leave it But it's funny. Those just the things that you discern. It is. Yeah. And and and I always, if it's important to them, it's important to me.
00:22:21
Speaker
um so it's just navigating those things together. Yeah. Yeah. When you hear the phrase, you know, we go at your pace, what does that mean in in practice with us?
Empowering Families in the Decision-Making Process
00:22:34
Speaker
That's a great question. i don't ever want anyone to feel like they're rushed into making a decision. Yeah. I don't ever want you to feel like, again, that it's a transactional experience for you. Mm-hmm.
00:22:46
Speaker
We want you to feel confident and comfortable moving forward. At the end of the day, that moving at your pace means that you feel you trust us as an agency, that you understand that we want what's best for you, and that you feel empowered. I always say we want you to feel educated, equipped, and empowered to move forward.
00:23:09
Speaker
And when you have those things, then your timing is right. But fear is always going to creep in. And sometimes my job is to help things move. Yeah.
00:23:22
Speaker
And it's going to be out of love. And it's going to be when I know that you are educated, equipped, and empowered. Yeah. And so that that really, those three things are what I look for when I'm when i am reaching out to families and encouraging them and checking in on them. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
00:23:40
Speaker
Along with that education line, you know, is it okay for intended parents to gather information without a commitment? 100%. And it's also okay to not have all of the information when you're moving forward. Because it's a lot.
00:23:54
Speaker
It is a lot. We just talk about what's the next step. Mm-hmm. And I know that personally, i like bite-sized things. Yes. And not everyone's like that. Some people need the big the big picture. i need next steps. And so I hope to meet you where you are. That is my goal. I'm going to give you the big picture, but then I'm going to break it down into next steps. And sometimes you just have to trust the journey.
00:24:16
Speaker
Sometimes it's okay to not know, but to trust that I see the next step. And I think our agency does a fabulous job. of um taking care of our our clients and taking care of our intended parents yeah and building the rapport where you trust us and say, I don't really know what my next five steps are, but I know what the next one is and I'm going to be taken care of. Yeah.
00:24:40
Speaker
Yeah. Along that just same line of trust, I think you have a lot of intended parents who, you know, they they go and they look at the donor profiles and that sense of how how do I know that this person is who she says she is?
00:25:00
Speaker
That is a, that's a fair and valid concern. um We get that question quite a bit of like, what is your pre-screening with your donors? Like, how do you know that they are who they say they are? Absolutely. um And the way I answer that is our team does a fabulous job of pre-screening our donors.
00:25:21
Speaker
They go through, they go through multiple interviews. There's education. There's a background check. Ultimately, at the end of the day, we can't make a guarantee that their profile is 100% correct.
00:25:33
Speaker
There has to be some trust that just falls into that. If there are red flags, our team catches that. But we also have other things set in place, other pre-screening set in place, that if something s slides by the first one, it's going to get caught. Because our goal is quality matches up front. We do not want you wasting your time, your energy, your effort, your finances, your On donors who are not good matches.
00:25:59
Speaker
So to answer those questions, they are pre-screened thoroughly. yeah They go through interviews. Our team does background checks. We do psychological evaluations yearly. that Those are things that are set up.
00:26:12
Speaker
to ensure that they are who they say they are and anytime a family has a question on a profile that they see we're going to lean into it yeah ask us hey she says this what does that mean or she says this how do i know that's true and we're gonna we're gonna double tap into that we're gonna get you some reassurance um and figure it out along the way with you yeah Going along with you know what you said of as as far as the right next step and just all of the information that comes with it, what are we doing as an agency to make sure that intended parents and egg donors are feeling informed, do know what's next, just that education?
Comprehensive Support and Resources from the Agency
00:26:56
Speaker
We have... so much value that we put out, whether it's in our emails, we have systems in place that are set up to educate you all along the way. um Our team is incredible. They have thought, our our leadership has thought of everything. We are very proactive. and Our goal is to catch any concerns before they're ever there and make sure that um we are we have systems in place so that you feel confident moving forward and so that has been a really neat thing to see as as intended families come in overwhelmed and unsure and they start to fall into our systems and it just makes sense the clarity the light bulbs just go off Yeah.
00:27:42
Speaker
Never is the question, oh I didn't know this was going to happen. Never. not Not unless you just completely ignored some of our phone calls or emails.
00:27:53
Speaker
If you are surprised, I will say. I would be surprised. I would be surprised. No, absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah. One of the things, and again, you know, I think this is just a highlight of what makes our team so great is this is not just you've matched with a donor and now we send you on your way to your clinic.
00:28:13
Speaker
You have a coordinator. Correct. Correct. Praise God for our coordinators. Let me tell you, they are fabulous. And that is another system that we have in place. My goal is just to help guide and support in the matching process. Once the initial process is done, then I introduce you to our coordinators. And what I love so much about this is they're not only on Our team, but they have been in the field, they've been in the clinics and worked in the clinics. So again, they know the roadblocks, they know the obstacles to be proactive. And I love that not only are they professional, but they're an advocate for you. They are going to make sure that you as a new families know how to advocate for yourself with clinics. Because this process is overwhelming, because this process is heavy, that you feel good about your next steps, even with your clinic. yeah The goal is to work.
00:29:11
Speaker
The coordinator is going to support the clinic. They're here to coordinate the donor, her travel, her appointments, her medications, so that there are no Oh, no. There are no, I didn't know. um Nothing falls through the cracks because they are so good. They're so professional and they're so proactive in their systems and their check-ins. So that is where I feel so confident on my end and I can speak with such strength about what's coming because I know the care, the level of care they're about to receive once they have officially matched. No, 100%.
Reassuring Parents About Outcomes
00:29:52
Speaker
What's something intended parents worry about that keeps them up at night where you're like, hey, you don't need to worry about this. We've got it. That's a good question. um
00:30:05
Speaker
I think one of their biggest concerns is just the outcome. Sure. And that's, it's so valid. Yeah. And while we can't control it as an agency, the screening that we have in place, the screening your clinic has in place, um it, it is set up to ensure that you are able to have a successful experience.
00:30:32
Speaker
But I would say That and, like, picking the right donor. Mm, quotation marks. Right. Yeah.
00:30:44
Speaker
And honestly, there's not a right one. It is just what you want and what you feel is best for your family. Mm-hmm.
00:30:56
Speaker
There's not just one. There are different directions that you can go, and I love that. Again, that's that's my goal is to guide and support you through that. Yeah. Because I do believe that there's not just one for you. There's not just the donor. That there are options.
00:31:11
Speaker
And I think the fear of just getting it wrong is probably what keeps a lot of parents up at night. Yeah. For sure. Yeah.
Ongoing Support After Donation
00:31:20
Speaker
I think going back to you just the the concern about the outcome and what I think, again, makes us so unique as an agency is we're not done after you have you know your donors retrieved.
00:31:36
Speaker
We're still checking in with you. Yeah. We want to know. We want to be there. we do. We would love to just follow your journey. we We care about what happens. We have systems in place that if if something doesn't turn out in your favor, that we're still going to be here to support you. Yeah. Like we have those, those, those guarantees and those offers in place because we do care. Yeah.
00:32:00
Speaker
Yeah. And that is whether you use our surrogacy program or not. Correct. It's you. Correct. Correct. yeah for sure. For sure. If someone listening right now is feeling that overwhelmed, what would you want them to know?
00:32:15
Speaker
I would want them to know that you are not alone. that this process can feel lonely. yeah It can feel like um comparison that you see everyone around you that is not going through this. sure But what you don't see are the thousands of families that are going through this and that you are not alone, that we as an agency are here to help guide and support and to be someone to help bear that burden with you. Hmm.
00:32:47
Speaker
I'm so grateful for just the the calm, the steady way that you are guiding just all of our families. Again, along that line of overwhelm, what would you say is that first step?
00:33:02
Speaker
The first step would be to get on our database, register. It's free. Yeah. Just get on there and look. And then I would love to have a one on one conversation with you. yeah And I know sometimes that can feel like a commitment.
00:33:16
Speaker
It's not. i am. I am not here to pressure. It is in your timing. But what I want to do is educate because a lot of families feel like they have to be ready before we talk. And the truth is, i need to talk to you before you're ready.
00:33:30
Speaker
our conversation is going to help you get ready. Yeah. And I think that is what feels, um can feel, can keep families from reaching out. Yeah. It's like, I'm just not ready to talk to you yet.
00:33:42
Speaker
And the truth is, am not here for you when you're ready. I'm here to help you get ready. Yeah. Yeah. And that would be my encouragement to you is to not allow fear or the uncomfortableness of this journey to keep you from having a conversation because I really think you will feel better moving forward in your time. It doesn't have to be soon, but you'll feel empowered to get back on that database, to have conversations with your clinic because you now know a little more about what's happening. Yeah.
00:34:13
Speaker
Yeah. And again, just to be so clear, there's, And debt parents are not putting any money to go and look at that debt of being. No money. No money to have a conversation with me. No money talk to you.
00:34:25
Speaker
No money to asking questions. Yeah. It is. That is, that is free. i could Take advantage of the free things you can on this journey. No, for sure. for sure. But again, it's such a value because, I mean, we do. We do care so much about just you as a person. We do. And helping you discern what your next right step for you is. And i tell families all the time.
00:34:51
Speaker
It's okay if you end up not going with us. Yeah. Our goal is transparency in this industry. We want to help educate so that you can make the the right choice for you. And we're not, we don't think that we're right for everyone. We want to be for everyone, but we want you to feel right in your next step, whatever that looks like. Mm-hmm.
00:35:11
Speaker
I love that so, so much. Again, thank you so much for just all of the ways that, you know, just all of the support, all of the care and love, the facts from the feelings, all of it. My last question for you. Okay. It's my fun one. Okay.
00:35:28
Speaker
We know Whitney coffee always. We're never apart. Never, um never, ever. I love it for you. Thank you. I love it for me too. I love it for me too. Okay. What has filled your cup today? Literally or figuratively, what's been the thing to fill your cup?
00:35:46
Speaker
Being around our team members today, just being in the same space, collaborating, sitting here with you has just filled my cup. So I thank you, Whitney, for this opportunity. Thank you. No, it is. It is. um It's definitely a joy when we all get to get together, for sure. It's so fun. It's so fun.
00:36:03
Speaker
It's so fun. Yay. Thank you, Katie. Thanks, Whitney.