SCHEDULE APPOINTMENT

Egg Donation

The purpose of egg donation is to give women who are unable to get pregnant with their own eggs the chance of having children using donor eggs. The donors can be women who are themselves undergoing fertility treatment (sharing protocol), or volunteers.

The egg donation program at IAKENTRO was started in 1989, when we obtained the first pregnancy in Greece from a donated egg, which resulted in the birth of full-term twins. This success was our motivation to start a special egg donation program with volunteer donors.

When is egg donation recommended?

The egg donation program offers the possibility of pregnancy in the following cases:

  • Women with early menopause
  • Women with low-quality eggs
  • Women who are 43-50 years old (over 50 years it is prohibited by law)
  • Women with chromosomal anomalies or genetic disorders
  • Women who haveundergone cancer treatment and their ovaries do not respond to any hormonal treatment


Success rates

The steadily high success rate in the egg donation program is the result of good coordination between donor and recipient, good donor preparation, high laboratory specifications, and well-trained scientific staff.

Preparation of Recipient

The proper screening and preparation of the recipient is a decisive factor in the success of the egg donation program. This includes:

  • Embryo transfer test before the attempt (in cases of narrow or deformed cervical canal, cervical dilation is recommended)
  • Gynaecological ultrasound
  • Hysterosalpingography (HSG)
  • Hysteroscopy (where indicated)
  • Pharmaceutical preparation of the endometrium

Furthermore, each egg recipient is also mandatorily submitted to the following tests:

  • Blood type – Rhesus
  • Complete blood count
  • Antibodies for hepatitis B and C (HbsAg, anti-s, anticore IgM, HbC)
  • HIV
  • Haemoglobin electrophoresis
  • Mycoplasma, ureaplasma in the vaginal-cervical coating
  • Chlamydia in the vaginal-cervical coating
  • CMV (IgG, IgM)
  • Syphilis (VDTL)
  • Rubella

Preparation of the spouse or sperm donor:

  • Blood type – Rhesus
  • Complete blood count
  • HIV
  • Hepatitis Β, C
  • Haemoglobin electrophoresis
  • Sperm analysis test and sperm culture, aerobic and anaerobic, for mycoplasma and chlamydia
  • Syphilis
  • CMV

In cases of non-obstructive azoospermia or severe oligospermia, where sperm concentration is less than 5 million per ml, it is recommended for the man to also have the following tests:

  • Test for cystic fibrosis
  • Test for Y chromosome microdeletions
  • Karyotype

For successful embryo implantation and development, the proper preparation of the endometrium is necessary, so that on the date when the eggs are retrieved, the endometrium has a thickness of at least 8 mm. This procedure takes place at the recipient’s place of residence, by her attending physician. The drug regimen used to prepare the endometrium depends on whether the recipient menstruates or not.

Egg Donors

All egg donors who participate in our centre’s egg donation program are less than 32 years old; they are volunteer donors pursuant to Greek Law, and they are compensated for their expenses, their days off from work, and their physical strain with a specific amount determined by the National Committee on Assisted Reproduction.

In any case, egg donation is an altruistic, anonymous and voluntary act. Before entering the program, all egg donors are examined by a pathologist, geneticist, psychologist and gynaecologist from our centre, to test their physical and mental state, their genetic material and their reproductive system.

Specifically, donor tests include:

  • Blood type – Rhesus
  • Complete blood count
  • Antibodies for hepatitis B and C (HbsAg, anti-s, anticore IgM, HbC)
  • HIV
  • NAT (Nucleic Acid Amplification) testing: It is a molecular biology technique that allows us, within 24 hours, to know if the donor has been infected by hepatitis B and C and HIV
  • Haemoglobin electrophoresis
  • Mycoplasma, ureaplasma in the vaginal-cervical coating
  • Chlamydia in the vaginal-cervical coating
  • CMV (IgG, IgM)
  • Syphilis (VDTL)
  • Rubella
  • Karyotype
  • Cystic fibrosis

Donors undergo the classic ovarian stimulation procedure. Under no circumstances is the reproductive ability of women who decide to become egg donors affected. In fact, they are donating eggs that, if not aspirated, would be destroyed by their body.

In addition to the tests provided by Greek Law for male and female donors, at IAKENTRO we can also test for the more severe hereditary-genetic diseases. Specifically:

Autosomal recessive disorders

  • Deficiency of acil-CoA dehydrogenase
  • Congenital disorder of glycosylation type 1a
  • Duchenne/Becker muscular dystrophy (DMD/B)
  • Cystic fibrosis
  • Metachromatic leukodystrophy
  • Gaucher disease
  • Wilson disease
  • Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome

X.linked Diseases

  • Fragile X Syndrome (FXS)
  • Muscular dystrophy of the spine

The law in Greece

  • Egg donation is an altruistic act, voluntary and unpaid. Donors are compensated for their days off from work and their physical strain within the framework of the donation procedure, and for their travel expenses.
  • Egg and sperm donation is permitted in Greece, provided that the donors remain anonymous.
  • Donation is not permitted to homosexual couples and to women over 50 years old.
  • Egg donors sign a statement ceding their eggs.
  • Recipients sign a statement at our centre that they are married and they consent to undergo IVF with donated eggs. If they are not married, then they must sign a notarised statement that they wish to undergo IVF with donated eggs.