Egg donation

What kind of couples need egg donation to have children?
Couples where the man is fertile but the woman does not have ovaries, only a uterus.Women who have ovaries that do not function also need egg donation to have children. The causes of ovary failure are diverse:chromosomal abnormalities, radiotherapy or chemotherapy treatments, menopause, etc.

Another possibility are women with hereditary illnesses who require egg donation to have healthy children if it is not possible to select healthy embryos from their own eggs.

How is egg donation handled?
The egg donation process only requires two trips to the CEFER Institute. On the first visit, the medical files of the couple (or woman) are opened. In these files, phenotype data is recorded: race, weight, height, hair and eye colour.

With the woman, the gynaecologist indicates which analyses and/or examinations are necessary before beginning treatment for preparation of the uterus for embryo transfer. With the man, if needed, a fertility study is conducted.He gives a sperm sample to be studied and frozen.For this, he must abstain from sexual activity for between 4 to 7 days prior to giving the sample.Frozen sperm is always used in the egg donation process.This is more comfortable for the man as it avoids a possible meeting with the donor.The donation, by law, must be anonymous, and the IVF-ICSI is equally as effective with both fresh and frozen sperm.

The second visit is for the transfer of the embryo into the uterus.The woman can come alone.

How long is the waiting time for a donor?
The time it takes to be assigned a donor is normally around 6 to 8 weeks. There are no waiting lists.
How are egg donors selected?
Egg donors are selected from university students between 18 and 29 years old. The donor is informed of the entire egg donation process. The selection process includes medical history, gynaecological examination, blood analysis and ultrasound scans. Vaginal cytology, a bacteriological study of vaginal and cervical secretions and blood tests for AIDS, hepatitis B and C, syphilis, thalassaemia and haemophilia are all carried out. Karyotyping is also conducted to rule out any chromosomal abnormalities. If the results of the studies come back normal, the donor is accepted. About 25% of those studied are accepted.

They are informed that the only way the eggs will be used is to help another woman have children and that the donation, by law, must be ANONYMOUS, which means that the donor and the egg recipient will never meet.

The donation must be voluntary and free. The donor must give written consent. The fact that the donation is free does not mean that the donor’s costs are not compensated (travel, time spent donating).

The donor has no right or obligation over the pregnancy or child conceived with her eggs.

The selection of a donor for a woman takes into account race, weight, height and hair and eye colour. Free egg donation is legal in Spain if carried out in an authorised medical centre and with the necessary guarantees.

The egg donation process
The accepted donor begins hormone treatment (daily injections) under gynaecological supervision. This treatment is meant to stimulate the maturation of the eggs in the ovaries. The beginning of treatment coincides with the beginning of the ovulation cycle, that is, when menstruation begins.

Monitoring through ultrasound scans and blood tests is necessary so that the gynaecologist can confirm that the ovaries are responding well to treatment. The good response of the ovaries is verified and the moment of egg collection is determined. Egg extraction requires the puncture of the follicles that have grown in the ovaries. It is not necessary to be admitted into the clinic, there are no stitches involved. The process takes no more than 20 minutes, during which time the donor is under general anaesthetic (the process is carried out under a light anaesthetic or deep sedation).

What is done with the eggs?
The man’s semen that has been frozen previously is unfrozen and a single morphologically normal spermatozoid is microinjected into each and every one of the donor’s mature eggs (ICSI technique). Between 16 and 20 hours after this technique has been carried out, the eggs are observed under a microscope to see if fertilisation has occurred. The gynaecologist will have previously confirmed that the recipient woman is prepared to receive the embryos. Normally the transfer is carried out three days after the eggs are extracted. The embryos may be frozen if the recipient is not ready to receive them.

How many embryos can be transferred?
Between one and a maximum of three embryos can be transferred, according to Spanish law. This decision is to be made by the couple. The biomedical team will advise them depending on the case and the embryo quality before the transfer.

Pregnancy rates
The average pregnancy rate is between 55 and 65%. Among other factors, the number of embryos transferred influences the chances of becoming pregnant.

Egg donation Refunding Program
Egg donation treatments are expensive and many couples don’t have insurance benefits to cover them. Our refunding program guarantees that you will receive 60% of what you have paid if you don't achieve an ongoing pregnancy. If after 3 egg donation cycles we have not succeeded, we will reimburse you 60% of the total cost of the treatment. In the Refunding Program you pay a fixed fee that covers up to 3 fresh egg-donation cycles, including all the cryopreservation cycles that may be performed in between. Make an online inquiry for more information.