One of the main reasons for not getting pregnant is often the poor quality of the woman’s eggs. In these cases, an IVF cycle with eggs from a young donor is the best option.
IVF with an egg donor is the ideal in vitro fertilization treatment for single women, lesbian couples, or women with a male partner whose eggs do not function properly.
What is the process for IVF with an egg donor like?
We have three in vitro fertilization programs featuring remote egg donation:
Repro4ED (Reproclinic for Egg donation)
Your physician will begin, together with Reproclinic, the preparation of the endometrium. Reproclinic in Barcelona will be responsible for selecting the donor, their ovarian stimulation, and retrieving the eggs. Once the endometrium is started, you will travel to Barcelona to be able to deliver the sperm sample on the same day the donor’s eggs are retrieved, and you will be able to enjoy Barcelona for about five days, at which time the embryos will be transferred. You can head back home the next morning. The total stay in Barcelona, in this case, is approximately seven days.
Repro4T (Reproclinic for Transfer)
Your physician will begin, together with Reproclinic, the preparation of the endometrium and the collection and cryopreservation of the sperm. The sperm sample will be sent to Reproclinic. Reproclinic in Barcelona will be responsible for selecting the donor, the ovarian stimulation, and obtaining the eggs. Once the endometrium is ready to receive the embryos, you can travel to Barcelona to have them implanted (the woman alone, or the couple). The next morning, you can travel back to your country. The total stay in Barcelona, in this case, is approximately three days.
Repro4DED (Reproclinic for distance egg donation)
Your physician will initiate, together with Reproclinic, the preparation of the endometrium and the collection and cryopreservation of the sperm. The sperm sample will be sent to Reproclinic. Reproclinic in Barcelona will be responsible for selecting the donor, the ovarian stimulation, and retrieving the eggs. Once the sperm is received, Reproclinic proceeds with creating the in vitro embryos, selecting the most viable and vitrifying them. Once vitrified, Reproclinic sends them to your sterility center, which will proceed with the implantation of the embryos*. Thanks to this program, you won’t have to leave your country.
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*only if it’s located in the EU
What is the process for IVF with?
The IVF process with donated eggs is slightly different from a cycle of in vitro fertilization with the mother’s eggs:
For the donor:
The donor, previously accepted into our donor program, who exhibits the highest phenotypic and immunological match with the woman and the couple, is selected.
- Ovarian stimulation The woman takes hormones every day to stimulate the ovaries. This phase can last about 15 days. The donor has to go to the clinic three or four times to monitor follicle growth. This is done using an ultrasound and blood test.
- The egg release Once the ovaries are properly stimulated to produce mature eggs, another hormone is administered to induce ovulation. This procedure takes place in the operating room and requires sedation. It lasts approximately 15 minutes and is painless. When the patient recovers fully from the sedation, she can go home and rest.
- Ovarian puncture under sedation This lasts about 20 minutes and involves inserting a needle connected to a vaginal ultrasound to aspirate the ovarian follicles, containing the follicular fluid and the egg.
For the couple or donor:
- Medical tests To rule out other causes of sterility (endometrial/ovarian ultrasound, tests, karyotypes, sperm analysis, etc.).
- Endometrial preparation Estrogen is administered through patches (or sometimes orally) for 10–15 days. Using an ultrasound, the doctor will monitor the development of the endometrium until it grows to a thickness of between 5 and 10 millimeters and develops a trilaminar appearance.
- Collecting the sperm sample and in vitro fertilization process the same day that the donor’s eggs are received, the sperm sample is taken to proceed with the in vitro fertilization as soon as possible. This is done using the ICSI technique, which involves injecting the sperm into the ovule using a very fine needle.
- Embryo culture and selection over the next few days, the biologists monitor embryo growth using the time-lapse technique. These incubators, with an internal chamber, allow monitoring of the embryos 24 hours a day to see which fertilize correctly so that the most viable ones can be selected.
- Selecting the embryos for transfer and embryo transfer After five days of development, the most viable embryos are selected and transferred to the mother’s uterus.
Why choose our IVF program with donor eggs?
- Because we have our own highly specialized laboratory, which allows us to offer the highest level of safety and traceability during the egg donation process.
- Because our donors undergo a strict screening process that goes far beyond what is required under Spanish law.
We all carry 5-7 genetic mutations that mark us as healthy carriers of a recessive genetic disease. If your partner is a carrier of the same disease, your child will have a 25% chance of being affected.
To reduce the risks as much as possible, we use wide-ranging genetic tests to screen our donors for up to 362 genetic diseases.
The male is also genetically screened, which allows us to assign an egg donor who does not share the same abnormality, thus boosting the odds of safe treatment and the birth of a healthy child.
If using donor sperm
If the use of donor sperm is required, our medical team will select a sperm donor who offers the best phenotypic and immunological match with the woman.
Our sperm donors undergo a strict screening process that is well beyond what is required by Spanish law. This way, we can ensure that the donor is healthy for the IVF with the donor egg process.
What are my chances of getting pregnant through IVF with egg donation?
The chances of pregnancy in IVF with egg donation are between 65-80%. While this success rate is very high, keep in mind that the probabilities depend on many factors. These include the woman’s age, the quality of the sperm and the embryos transferred, and the presence of any endometrial pathologies. Depending on your situation, the doctor will estimate your chances of getting pregnant.
