Oocyte Donation
¿Puedo tener hijos con óvulos de otra mujer?
Oocyte Donation
¿Puedo tener hijos con óvulos de otra mujer?
What is oocyte donation?
Oocyte Donation or Egg Donation is a particular case of In Vitro Fertilization Treatment where the embryos come from a donor’s eggs and are fertilized in the laboratory with the sperm of the recipient couple.
It is a very simple technique to perform and offers the highest success rates.
At Amnios in Vitro Project we don’t have any type of waiting list and we ensure a minimum number of 6 useful oocytes for each treatment. In addition, we have the latest technology and a professional and human team that allows us to offer our patients the maximum guarantees of success in their treatments with a close and humane treatment.
Can I have children with eggs from another woman?
At Amnios we offer you an In Vitro Fertilization treatment with Donor Eggs.
Who can benefit from an egg donation?
The couples in which an egg donation is indicated are:
- Women with early menopause: A woman’s ovaries have stopped working early in life.
- Women with low ovarian reserve: without reaching menopause, a woman’s ovaries have a lower capacity to produce healthy eggs.
- Women with low oocyte quality: when in previous cycles of in vitro fertilization it has been seen that the patient’s eggs are of low quality to achieve a pregnancy.
- Couples or women with repeated IVF failures.
- Women with repeated abortions: in some cases of couples with several cases of abortions this is the only solution.
- Genetic factors: when the woman has a genetic problem that can be transmitted to the offspring that cannot be solved with a Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis.
First consultation
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Request your free consultation at our clinic in Madrid and we will study your case without commitment
How is an oocyte donation treatment done?
Egg donation treatment is very simple. It consists of using estrogen pills that allow the woman’s uterus to be more receptive to the embryos that she is going to receive. Sometimes it is necessary to first apply another medication called “GnRH analogues”, which slows down the ovaries and allows the uterus to be receptive for a long time. While these treatments are applied, the donor is synchronized with the recipient, in such a way that a few days after the recipient patient is ready, the eggs are obtained. These are the treatment steps:
Donor Allocation
The first step is to assign an egg donor. The allocation is made based on the physical characteristics of the woman, and blood groups. It is about assigning a donor who is physically similar to the recipient in terms of physical profile. However, it must be considered that the physical characteristics have a multigenic inheritance (that is, that numerous genes are involved), and that they are not always inherited. For this reason, choosing egg donors with the same physical characteristics as the recipient woman does not ensure that her child will receive those same physical characteristics. This also occurs in natural pregnancies.
Endometrial preparation
The process of preparing the endometrium is very simple. Basically, the production of pituitary hormones is blocked, in case the woman has normal ovulation. Next, estrogens are administered (orally, patches…), whose mission is to act on the endometrium and make it grow. With this treatment, we reproduce the follicular phase of the ovarian cycle, until the endometrium reaches an adequate thickness. We consider that the recipient woman is ready when the endometrium measures 6 mm or more. This usually happens 8 to 12 days after starting estrogen treatment. It is verified that the endometrium is prepared by ultrasound scan. And thanks to this treatment, the endometrium can continue to be prepared for a long time (up to 100 days), which allows us to complete the donation process without problems.
If it were not for this type of endometrial preparation treatment, egg donation would have to take place coinciding with the days in which the endometrium is receptive to the embryos (only 3 or 4 days each cycle), which is quite complicated. However, in certain cases, the egg donation treatment is carried out in a natural cycle.
The time that elapses from the time the patient has her endometrium prepared until she receives the eggs depends on the synchronization with the donor. Normally it takes a few days, but at other times it can take up to 3 or 4 weeks. The chances of pregnancy are the same regardless of the time it has taken to receive the eggs.
Freezing the partner's semen
It is advisable for the couple to leave a frozen semen sample in the laboratory. In this way, once the egg donation takes place, the spermatozoa are thawed and used to fertilize the eggs.
If the couple decides not to leave a frozen semen sample, they must go to the clinic on the day of the donor’s egg retrieval, to deliver the semen sample.
Embryo Transfer
The rest of the process is like in vitro fertilization. Embryo transfer can be done on days 2, 3 or 5 (if a long culture is done).
Who are the egg donors?
The requirements that an egg donor must meet are set by the Law. She must be of legal age and under 35 years of age to avoid genetic problems. Donors are subjected to a rigorous study, also established by law.
First of all, an informative interview is carried out with the possible donor to explain what the previous study process consists of, and the treatment that will be carried out afterwards to be able to donate eggs. During this visit, a detailed medical history of the donor and her family is completed. She must have a personal and family history with no history of risk and a normal physical examination and psychological assessment.
If in this interview no reasons are found that could rule out the donor, a complete analytical study is carried out, with all the tests that the Law contemplates, ranging from a general analysis to tests for infectious diseases such as hepatitis B and C, HIV and syphilis, going through genetic testing. In addition, the patient is evaluated by means of a psychological personality test.
Once the study process has been completed, and it is confirmed that the donor meets all the necessary requirements, the woman who will receive the eggs (recipient) is assigned, and the treatment process begins.
The donation in Spain is anonymous. To group a couple with their donor, physical features that are as similar as possible are sought, considering race, color and type of hair, eye color, skin color, weight, height and blood group and Rh.
A special case of donation is shared egg donation. In this case, the donor is a woman who comes to undergo an In Vitro Fertilization cycle, and who decides to donate half of the eggs obtained to a recipient. This type of approach to egg donation is very common in other neighboring countries, such as the United Kingdom.
In these cases, the conditions of anonymity and security required by law are also maintained. The objective of this type of donation is to reduce the cost of the process for both patients, so that the final price is very low for both.
What is shared egg donation?
Not your first cycle?
don't give up
f you have already undergone an In Vitro Fertilization cycle and have not achieved the expected success, do not be discouraged. That first cycle can give us a lot of information about how your ovaries and your eggs are working, and about what happens when eggs and sperm meet.
All this experience can be of great help to improve the procedures of subsequent cycles and improve the chances of pregnancy.
Have you already decided?
Start this unique process from now on, we help you throughout the process so that you feel comfortable and safe.
