Known Egg Donor
An egg donor is a young woman between the age of 20-28 who donates her eggs to help couples conceive as part of IVF in Cyprus. Egg donation Cyprus at the EuroCARE IVF center is typically anonymous, but patients may use a known egg donor.
A known egg donor refers to a family member, acquaintance, or friend who donates her eggs to you to help you conceive as part of IVF (in vitro fertilization). All potential donors are required to complete the screening process and follow a certain ovarian stimulation protocol prescribed by our fertility specialist. There are no waiting lists at our clinic as you already have a chosen donor for your IVF treatment in Cyprus.
Using a known egg donor can provide additional comfort or value to you and your partner. A known donor enables you to experience the joy of pregnancy and birth, while at the same to have some control over the pregnancy, and have a baby that is genetically related to a member of your family or to someone else who is close to you.
What is Egg Donation in Cyprus?
Egg donation in Cyprus is a method of assisted reproduction where one woman (egg donor) donates eggs (donor eggs) to another woman to help in the conception of a baby. Donor eggs are fertilized in our lab in North Cyprus with the husband’s sperm or donor sperm provided by a reputable sperm bank. The resulting embryos are transferred to the intended mother’s uterus on day 3 or day 5 after fertilization. The remaining embryos may be frozen for future IVF cycles.
Why Egg Donation in IVF?
Egg donation is a viable treatment option if you have one of the following conditions:
- Ovarian dysfunction due to ovarian cysts
- Cancer of the ovaries or other ovarian diseases
- Lacking ovaries
- Poor egg or embryo quality
- Poor ovarian response to fertility drugs
- Genetic condition
Egg donation is also an option if you have low egg supply or your eggs are of poor quality. Egg donation is recommended if you were born without ovaries, or your reproductive organs have been damaged or surgically removed. Another reason for using donor eggs may be a genetic disorder that can be passed onto your child. If you have unexplained infertility with multiple failed IVF cycles, you may choose to have IVF with donor eggs in Cyprus to increase your chances for pregnancy success.
Benefits of Egg Donation in Cyprus
- Egg donation in Cyprus allows you to experience the joy of pregnancy and childbirth when the chances of getting pregnant with your own eggs are too low to produce positive outcomes.
- Using donor eggs from young women can increase your chances for pregnancy success and reduce the risk of miscarriage.
- The average success rate of egg donation at our clinic in Cyprus ranges between 70 and 80 percent per cycle.
- Our center uses a standardized scoring system to effectively define and measure egg quality.
- You can always choose from our database of anonymous and highly qualified egg donors for the characteristics you desire.
- Our egg donors are physically, mentally and emotionally prepared for the egg donation process.
- All of our egg donors undergo a thorough medical and fertility screening process before they are allowed to donate eggs.
- There is no waiting list for your IVF treatment in Cyprus; you and your chosen egg donor can start the egg donation process almost immediately after the screening process is completed.
- All egg donation cycles use fresh donor eggs that are retrieved and fertilized on the same day.
- The EuroCARE IVF egg donation program successfully treats women who are carriers of genetic diseases, women who have had multiple failed cycles of IVF due to diminished ovarian reserve, and women after menopause.
Egg Donation from a Family Member
Egg donation may occur intergenerationally between siblings or cousins of similar ages. In this case, a sister may provide eggs for a sister to help her conceive as part of IVF in Cyprus. A friend can also donate her eggs if she passes the psychological and medical screening required of all egg donors.
Known Egg Donation Requirements
Egg donors are allowed to participate in our egg donation program only if they meet the following general requirements:
- Between 21-28 years of age
- Have regular monthly periods
- No reproductive disorders or abnormalities
- Physically and emotionally healthy
- BMI under 28
- Non-Nicotine user, Non-smoker, Non-drug user
- Willing to undergo a medical and psychological evaluation
- Willing to take fertility drugs
Our in-house egg donors are young women between 20 and 28 years of age, so we require your egg donor to belong to the same age group. Women in this age range tend to respond better to fertility drugs, and they tend to produce high-quality eggs and embryos. Eggs and embryos of high quality reduce the risk of miscarriage and birth defects and increase the likelihood of pregnancy success.
Additionally, your egg donor should be free of infections, such as HIV and hepatitis C. Also, the egg donor should not be a carrier of any genetic disease as it may put the baby’s health at risk.
Egg Donor Cyprus Screening
Egg donors will be required to undergo extensive medical screening before they are allowed to take part in our egg donation program in Cyprus. Egg donor screening comprises of:
- Fertility Testing: Your egg donor will be required to undergo hormone testing (estrogen, progesterone, FSH, and LH). These test results will determine your egg donor’s ovarian function and reserve. The donor will also need to have an ultrasound scan on the second or third day of her menstruation.
- Infectious Testing: This involves testing for blood type/group and infectious diseases such as HIV and Hepatitis B and C as well as VDRL (Venereal Disease Research Laboratory test).
- Genetic Testing: Your egg donor will be required to do a karyotype test to evaluate the size, shape, and number of the chromosomes in her blood cells.
Egg Donor Cyprus Selection
Egg donor selection is based on the donor’s overall health status and absence of a genetic condition that interferes with pregnancy and IVF success. Some aspects you want to consider before deciding to use a known egg donor might also include:
- the overall health of the donor
- physical appearance
- similar physical attributes
- intelligence markers (IQ scores, college attended, etc.)
- athleticism
- personality and hobby
Which criteria are most important to you? This is a good topic you may discuss with a counselor before the egg donation process begins.
Egg Donor Cyprus Cycle
The egg donor cycle is a series of procedures and steps that need to be followed and completed in a certain order to ensure positive results for both parties.
- Ovarian Stimulation for the Egg Donor: Depending on your egg donor’s test results, our EuroCARE IVF specialist will recommend an adequate medication protocol. Your egg donor will have a chart of fertility medications/hormonal injections to take until the egg retrieval. With an appropriate treatment protocol, your egg donor will be able to produce multiple eggs. During ovarian stimulation, the egg donor will be monitored closely through blood tests and ultrasound scans to ensure normal egg development.
- Uterine Lining Preparation for the Recipient: While your egg donor’s eggs are being prepared for the egg retrieval through hormonal injections, you will start taking estrogen and progesterone to prepare your uterus for implantation. A uterine lining of at least 7 mm creates a favorable environment for the embryos to attach into the wall of the uterus and continue to develop.
- Egg Retrieval: When the ultrasound scans show that your donor’s eggs are mature, the donor will trigger ovulation with a hCG injection (trigger shot). 34-36 hours after the hCG injection, your donor’s eggs will be collected at our clinic in Cyprus. Your egg donor will take a light sedative before the procedure. The egg retrieval process takes about 15-20 minutes.
- Fertilization and Embryo Transfer: The collected eggs are fertilized with the partner’s (or donor) sperm in a procedure called ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection). If using fresh sperm, your partner will provide a sample on the same day when the egg retrieval is performed. With micromanipulation devices, our embryologist will fertilize the eggs by injecting a single sperm cell in each of them. The embryos are incubated overnight and graded. The embryos will be transferred on day 3 or on day 5 after the egg retrieval.
- Pregnancy Tests: You will have a pregnancy test about two weeks after the embryo transfer, via a blood test that measures the hCG level. If pregnant, you will start visiting an obstetrician for prenatal care.
Donor Egg Recipient Cycle
Your cycle will be synchronized with your donor’s cycle. This is accomplished by administering hormonal medications before the egg donation process. You will take medicine shortly before your period to suppress ovulation. Estrogen is then added shortly after the procedure starts and adjusted until your and donor’s cycles match.
Fertility drugs are used to manipulate a regular menstrual cycle and synchronize your and the donor’s cycle. This is also important for the implantation of the embryos as the uterine lining needs to be well-prepared before the transfer.
Your partner will provide a sperm sample on the same day when the eggs are retrieved from the donor. Alternatively, your partner will provide the sperm before the egg retrieval day, which will be then safely frozen until the eggs are fertilized.
The sperm sample is processed in our lab and only healthy, motile sperm cells are selected for fertilization. Single sperm cells are injected into each collected egg in a procedure called ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection). ICSI in Cyprus is an advanced technique of fertilization used during IVF in Cyprus with high success rates.
After the egg retrieval, our doctor will prescribe progesterone. This is to prepare your uterus for the transfer. The embryo transfer normally occurs three to five days after the egg retrieval.
A beta hCG test will be performed 12 days after the embryo transfer to determine if pregnancy has occurred. You should also be able to notice some early signs of pregnancy during this time, including missed period, swollen breasts, nausea, headaches, food cravings or aversions, slight bleeding or cramping, moodiness, etc.
During your stay in North Cyprus, our medical team will provide you with further instructions regarding the medications and the next steps to take after the embryo transfer.
Is Egg Donation Safe?
Egg donation does not affect your egg donor’s fertility. Fertility drugs have no long-term impact on hormone balance. During the egg donation cycle, the donor’s hormone levels will be temporarily elevated for about 2 weeks. Egg donation won’t deplete your donor’s egg supply. At puberty, a woman has an ovarian reserve of approximately 300,000 eggs, of which only 300 to 400 eggs will mature during a lifetime. Egg donation is a safe procedure, and our fertility specialist will take all precautions to avoid any potential risk. Our doctor will monitor your donor’s ovaries to avoid any complications associated with the ovarian stimulation procedure.
Egg Donation Cyprus Success Rates
Egg Donation Cyprus is extraordinarily successful. The EuroCARE IVF Center egg donation program has experienced clinical pregnancy rates of 70-80 percent per embryo transfer. The success rates of IVF with donor eggs are therefore incredibly high. This is probably due to the fact that egg donors are young and able to provide high-quality eggs. The risks for miscarriage and embryos with chromosomal abnormalities are significantly reduced. Using donor eggs can elevate a patient’s likelihood of achieving a successful pregnancy, even if previous IVF cycles with your own eggs have failed.
Egg Donation at EuroCARE IVF
With Egg donation at the EuroCARE IVF clinic in Cyprus, thousands of couples have become parents with assistance. Building a family using a known donor egg has proven to be a viable and satisfying option for many. Our egg donation program requires donors and recipients to undergo a thorough screening process and meet with a counselor specialized in third-party reproduction.
Please contact our international patient coordinator to get more detailed information about the egg donation program.