Ovodonation clinic
Ovodonation is the assisted reproductive treatment in which a woman receives eggs from an egg donor for reproductive purposes. These eggs are inseminated with sperm from the recipient’s partner or from a sperm donor.
The embryos generated are transferred into the uterus of the recipient woman in order to achieve pregnancy.
The origin of these eggs used in egg donation may be:
- Eggs from an egg donor who has undergone an ovarian stimulation procedure simultaneously with the recipient’s endometrial preparation.
- Frozen eggs from a compatible egg donor from an accredited egg bank.
The eggs used for the recipient’s egg donation treatment come from women who have chosen to donate eggs to help other women. Egg donation is an altruistic, anonymous and voluntary act. It is intended so that the eggs can be used for assisted reproduction treatments in women for whom it is clinically indicated. Therefore, the recipient is not allowed to choose or contribute to the donor. However, the egg donor will be physically and genetically compatible with the recipient. The process guarantees the anonymity of the egg donor at all times.
WHEN IS OVODONATION INDICATED?
- Women who do not produce their own eggs due to advanced age.
- Women with early ovarian failure secondary to surgery, treatment (chemotherapy or radiotherapy) or disease.
- Premenopausal or menopausal women.
- Women with serious genetic diseases, avoiding transmission so as not to develop problems in their descendants.
- Previous failures of assisted reproduction techniques due to lack of ovarian response to stimulation.
Ovodonation procedure
In ovodonation, the choice of the egg donor is made by the medical team specialising in assisted reproduction, guaranteeing the maximum possibilities of compatibility with the recipient woman and her partner. According to Law 14/2006 on Assisted Reproduction, donors are between 18 and 35 years of age, with no health problems and no family history.
They undergo a complete medical examination, with a general analysis, serology, karyotype, cytology and ultrasound to verify that everything is normal. Mutation detection tests or genetic matching are also carried out.
Although a donated egg is used to generate the embryos, the recipient must undergo treatment with medication to prepare her uterus to receive the embryos.
For the egg donor, the stimulation and puncture process is the same as that followed in an In Vitro Fertilisation treatment. The aim of ovarian stimulation is to achieve controlled multiple ovulation, which requires hormonal treatment with medication.
This procedure usually lasts between 10 and 12 days depending on the woman’s response. It is monitored by ultrasound and, if necessary, by hormone tests.
Ovodonation treatment follows when, once the adequate response to the stimulation has been verified and the follicles containing the eggs have reached the appropriate size and number, the eggs are scheduled to be extracted by follicular puncture.
This procedure is performed in the operating theatre under ultrasound guidance and sedation to avoid any discomfort.
It takes about 15-30 minutes and the donor can return home 3-4 hours after the intervention.
Once the donor’s eggs have been obtained, the embryology laboratory checks that they are mature (capable of fertilising and producing an embryo).
The semen sample can be from the partner/spouse or from a sperm donor from a certified sperm bank. Once obtained, it is prepared in the andrology laboratory to select the best sperm for fertilisation. The sperm inseminate the egg by in vitro fertilisation or ICSI. This semen sample can be fresh or frozen.
The following day, the number of fertilised eggs is checked and the embryos are kept in temperature and CO2 controlled incubators.
The laboratory staff will keep you informed of the progress of the process.
Ovodonation treatment ends with embryo transfer. It involves the deposit of the embryo or embryos into the uterine cavity. The procedure is performed in the operating theatre, but does not require sedation and is painless and quick. A limited number (between 1 and 3) of the embryos obtained will be transferred to the uterus with a fine catheter to follow their natural evolution.
The remaining viable embryos, if any, will be vitrified for use in further attempts by means of a frozen embryo transfer.
The pregnancy test will be performed about two weeks after the transfer with an evaluation of the beta HCG hormone in the blood.
Call us and make an appointment. We will study your case and advise you.
We also offer video consultations.
Do you have questions about Ovodonation?
Resorting to egg donation is a difficult decision to accept. But it is a very frequent option in the case of women who cannot use their eggs because of the low probability of achieving a pregnancy. Currently, around 30% of assisted reproduction treatments in Spain involve egg or sperm donation.
No, you cant. The Spanish law on Assisted Human Reproduction states that egg and sperm donation is an anonymous procedure. The medical team is in charge of choosing the donors. At all times NOVA FIV guarantees the confidentiality of the data of both the donor and the recipient, who will not have physical contact in our centre.
Egg donors are chosen on the basis of genetic and clinical compatibility, and the physical characteristics of the recipient and her partner are also taken into account. Therefore, physically, the donor will be similar to the recipient or her partner.
Yes, a woman can become a mother without a male partner. If she is unable to do so with her own eggs, she can resort to a double donation. This means using eggs from a compatible donor that will be inseminated with the sperm of a donor who is also compatible with the recipient.
Egg donation is anonymous. The recipient and any children born may have general information about the donor that does NOT include her identity. Only physical characteristics and age may be reported to inform the recipient’s pregnancy medical team.
You can also contact NOVA FIV through this form.
