Egg Donation

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.

To achieve the best success rates, IVF-Spain performs a detailed medical study, carefully selecting the most appropriate technique for each patient. The quality of the laboratory, the advanced technologies applied in each technique, and the ability to offer a tailored treatment are crucial to the success of the treatment.

IVF-Spain knows the importance of selecting the right donor for each patient, which is why we have our own donor programme, giving us total control and enabling us to ensure donor-recipient compatibility. 
Before entering the egg donation programme, candidates must undergo a battery of tests to determine the following:

• All donors must be in good health and have a good psychological profile, since the process must be carried out with the highest guarantees of success. They have a health assessment and full gynaecological examination to rule out reproductive system abnormalities. Blood tests ensure that the donor does not carry infectious diseases such as HIV, hepatitis B and C or syphilis.
• The donor's chromosomes are analysed to rule out mutations, and gene DNA is analysed in a blood sample. Donors are tested for the most frequent monogenetic disorders, which we can detect with the advanced technologies at our centre.
• Donors are selected from among candidates aged 18 to 35 years as established by Spanish law. However, in practice, most donors are younger than 30, which gives excellent rates of success.
• Although the process is totally anonymous, our medical team selects a donor with a phenotype and immunological similarity.

• With the partner’s semen
• With donor semen.

Step 1: Donor ovarian stimulation

At IVF-Spain, ovarian stimulation is carried out according to personalised protocols to obtain sufficient embryos and increase the possibilities of achieving pregnancy.

Ultrasound examinations are performed during this period, which lasts between 10 and 20 days, to check that the patient is responding to the drugs prescribed and that her follicles are growing steadily to reach the optimal size to guarantee puncture and, therefore, reproductive success.

Step 2: Donor follicular puncture and aspiration

Having obtained enough oocytes of a suitable size for maturing, ovulation is triggered and intravaginal ultrasound-guided follicular puncture and aspiration are programmed. This minor procedure is performed in the operating theatre under mild sedation to ensure that the patient does not experience any discomfort.

Step 3: Embryo fertilisation and culture

In in-vitro fertilisation treatment (IVF), ovules are fertilised in the IVF-Spain laboratory following the instructions of our team of embryologists, all highly prestigious embryologists with excellent reputations.

Embryos are cultured in the laboratory under constant supervision, controlling multiple parameters, therefore the success of in vitro fertilisation is largely dependent on the quality of the laboratory. IVF-Spain is equipped with technology that monitors embryos to provide constant information about cell division. This information is of vital importance when selecting the best embryo with the most best potential for implantation. All embryos are monitored in incubators, which provide optimal conditions for development until the moment of transfer.

The clinic stays in constant contact with patients, keeping them informed of the evolution of their embryos, and all the steps that make up the treatment.

Step 4: Preparing the patient’s endometrium

The endometrium is the layer of mucous that covers the inside of the uterus. Its thickness changes throughout the menstrual cycle. The implantation window is the period when it is at its thickest, and ready to receive the embryo. Preparing the endometrium is a crucial aspect of the treatment and consists of prescribing hormones which encourage it to grow and enable the embryo to implant successfully.

Step 5: Embryo transfer

The moment when the embryos are transferred is a very special one for patients. This is the first contact with the embryo after the initial treatment phase.
It’s a quick, painless process whereby the doctor inserts a cannula through the cervix (the neck of the uterus) and deposits the embryo.

At IVF-Spain, except in exceptional cases, we recommend transferring a single embryo, since we have advanced technologies that enable us to select the embryo with most potential for implantation to guarantee a viable pregnancy.

Step 6: Embryo vitrification

After the transfer, the remaining good-quality embryos are vitrified for use in subsequent cycles, obviating the need for further stimulation and follicular puncture.