Inc.

How an Entrepreneur’s Infertility Gave Birth to a Business, 1,500 Babies, and an Acquisition

Heidi Hayes, co-founder of Donor Egg Bank USA, transformed a new technology into a new company
MOTHER OF INVENTION Heidi Hayes turned her own difficulties into a business that helps both egg donors and would-be moms.

WHEN HEIDI HAYES AND her husband were trying to have a child, they spent thousands of dollars, in vain, on fertility clinics. Eventually they adopted, and later had twins thanks to an egg donor. But the arduous process led Hayes to a less expensive, more convenient idea. In 2010, she and reproductive endocrinologist Michael Levy founded Donor Egg Bank USA, the first company to distribute vitrified eggs to other fertility clinics. The company allows women to vet donor profiles and buy eggs online. After raising $1.25 million and starting

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