IVF using donor eggs
(Egg Donation)

What is IVF with donor eggs?

Egg donation is a fertility treatment consisting in-vitro donation of oocytes (eggs) from an anonymous donor. It is a safe, reliable fertility treatment with high rates of success. Unlike other countries with more restrictive laws, egg donation is completely legal in Spain and has been regulated since 1988. Spanish assisted reproduction law protects donor identity, so that the donor never knows the child’s identity and the child never knows who the donor is. Many families have concerns about the donor selection process. IVF-Spain has advanced protocols for selecting the most suitable donor for each family. Spanish law stipulates that there should the greatest possible phenotype (physical) similarity between the donor and the recipient. IVF-Spain has an extensive of donor bank of different nationalities, enabling us to match the features of patients from all over the world for egg donation treatments.

Stages of egg donation treatment

• Selection of egg donor

  The donor isselected by Ferticentro using strict medical criteria involving testing for genetic diseases and a psychological evaluation. For the selection of the egg donor, the physical characteristics (phenotype) of the patients are also considered.

• Treatment of the egg donor

  The egg donor undergoes ovarian stimulation treatment (administration of subcutaneous hormonal injections) for one to two weeks. Stimulation is controlled by ultrasound scans and blood tests, and the oocyte pickup is done under sedation.

• Treatment of the receiver

  The treatment of the donee is subject to various therapeutic protocols depending upon whether she has mentrual cycles. It is always necessary however to administer medication (tablets and in some cases a single injection at the beginning of the cycle) in addition to having monitoring and evaluation scans. At this stage of preparation which might include the synchronization of cycles at the same time as donor stimulation (lasting for around 15 days) there is always a close communication between the patient(s) and Ferticentro.

• IVF / ICSI and embryo transfer

  As in IVF / ICSI using a couple’s own sperm and eggs, the oocytes are transferred to culture media in the laboratory after pickup, and then treated and microinjected with one sperm each (i.e., one sperm per egg). The oocytes pass to other culture media, leading to the formation of embryos. Between two and three days after fertilization, the embryos (usually only two) are transferred to the donee’s’s uterus, so that they implant and lead to pregnancy. The Portuguese law defines that a maximum of two embryos can be transferred, but this is always a clinical decision and each case will have to be individually evaluated. In cases where there are several good embryos, transfer can be done on the fifth day, with no additional cost from the prolonged culture.

• Embryo cryopreservation

  Surplus embryos - those which have not been used in the treatment and are viable - can be frozen and used in a later cycle (in cases where the couple intends to have a second child or if the first attempt fails); may be donated for scientific research; can be donated to another patient(s); or can be destroyed. The couple is responsible for the embryo destination - provided that the conditions laid down by law are respected.

Egg Donors

Nadiya Odessa collaborates with a partner egg donor bank - Ovopuzzle. Our clinic patients can find the egg donors for the treatment using donor eggs through the online egg donor database. Just click on the button “Find egg donors”, register and get free unlimited access to whole 250 egg donors database. Make your own puzzle of a happy family!