Assisted reproduction techniques

Egg Donation

Egg donation is an assisted reproduction technique that involves inseminating a donor’s eggs with the sperm of the recipient’s male partner. In the event that the woman does not have a male partner, or if she does but he does not have adequate quality, or amount of sperm, sperm from a donor (sperm bank) is used to perform in vitro insemination of the donor’s eggs.

On a technical level, egg donation is In Vitro Fertilisation with donor eggs, in other words, the union between an egg and sperm that takes place in the laboratory. The embryos are cultured for several days until the day of embryo transfer, when they are placed inside the recipient’s uterus.

Egg donation is the assisted reproduction technique with the highest rate of pregnancy, at almost 70%.

Legally, a woman can undergo egg donation up to the age of 50.

Egg donation is anonymous, voluntary and selfless, so the donor and recipient can never find out the other’s identity.

The law provides that, for all legal purposes, the recipient of the eggs will be the legal mother of the conceived child.

Egg donation - Infographic

Egg donation procedure

  1. Hormone treatment. Preparation of the endometrium to achieve higher receptivity and the utmost probability of pregnancy at the moment of embryo transfer.
  2. In vitro insemination of donor eggs. The eggs are inseminated in the laboratory.
  3. Embryo culture. The resulting embryos are cultured in the laboratory, in optimal conditions for their development until the moment of embryo transfer.
  4. Embryo transfer. The embryo with the best potential for pregnancy is transferred to the recipient’s uterus.
  5. Embryo vitrification. Good quality embryos that are not transferred are vitrified and remain frozen for future uses.

Egg donation, STEP BY STEP

Complementary techniques

Donor selection and performed tests

When is egg donation indicated?

Egg donation is the chosen technique in cases where the woman does not have adequate quality eggs to become pregnant:

  • Elderly women
  • Low ovarian reserve
  • Premature menopause
  • Recurrent failed previous IVF cycles (failed fertilisations or implantations, recurrent miscarriages, etc.)
  • Genetic disorders
Ferring

In this website we use our own technical cookies that are essential for navigation. We use analytical cookies to statistically monitor users and to improve your browsing experience on our website. We also use functional cookies from Issuu to display documents on this platform from our website. If you click on "Accept all" you are accepting the installation of all of these cookies. You can configure the cookies according to your preferences by clicking the "Configuration" button. For more information, please access our cookie policy.   More information.