Donor Eggs for Fertility Treatment
Donor eggs are used in fertility treatment when you are unable to conceive using your own eggs. Understanding how the process works can help you to make an informed decision about your next steps. Wherever you are in your fertility journey, European Egg Bank is here to provide guidance and support every step of the way.
What are donor eggs?
Donor eggs are egg cells donated by a comprehensively screened donor to help those who cannot or do not want to use their own eggs to conceive. Once retrieved, they are either frozen for future use or used immediately in fertility treatments. The eggs are fertilised in the lab via IVF or ICSI and closely monitored as the embryos develop. The most suitable embryo is then transferred to the recipient’s uterus to continue growing.
Who uses donor eggs?
Donor eggs are typically used when a person cannot use their own eggs, when using their eggs is unlikely to result in a successful pregnancy, or when there is a risk of passing on a genetic condition. Common reasons for using donor eggs include:
- Premature menopause
- Age-related fertility decline
- Low ovarian reserve
- Poor egg quality
- Risk of genetic conditions
- Previous unsuccessful fertility treatment
- Double donation fertility treatment where both donor sperm and donor eggs are required
What happens after you’ve chosen an egg donor?
When you select a donor and place an order, the required number of eggs is reserved for your use. European Egg Bank then begins coordinating next steps with your chosen fertility clinic and arranging transportation and timing, based on your treatment plan.
How are donor eggs retrieved?
Egg donors from European Egg Bank undergo extensive screening to ensure they can provide healthy, high-quality eggs. Once approved, the donor begins taking hormones to stimulate the development of egg-containing follicles. When the follicles are ready, a fertility specialist uses a fine, ultrasound-guided needle to extract eggs from the sedated donor’s ovaries.
How are donor eggs stored?
Donor eggs are retrieved, assessed, and the best are frozen using liquid nitrogen. This freezing process, known as vitrification, prevents ice crystals from forming and damaging the eggs. Frozen eggs can be safely stored for years and thawed when required for treatment.
How fertility treatment with donor eggs works
Choose a donor
Find a European Egg Bank donor using our detailed profiles and matching tools. We provide personal guidance to help you throughout the process.
Transport eggs to the clinic
Your eggs are reserved the moment you place your order. We then arrange shipping with your chosen clinic.
Thawing
The donor eggs are placed in a specialised warming solution and thawed on the day of fertilisation.
Fertilisation with IVF or ICSI
The thawed eggs are fertilised via IVF or ICSI.
Embryo development
Fertilised eggs are carefully monitored in the lab for up to five days as the embryos develop.
Blastocyst stage
The eggs are ready for transfer when they reach the blastocyst stage. Blastocysts are assessed and graded to select the best embryo for transfer.
Transfer or freezing
A single blastocyst is transferred to the recipient’s uterus in a simple, painless procedure. Remaining blastocysts can be frozen for use in future treatments.
Please note, European Egg Bank is not involved in the actual treatment process. If you want to learn more about the process leading up to the treatment, we got a full guide that helps you get started.
Partner sperm or donor sperm?
Donor eggs can be fertilised with sperm from a partner or with donor sperm. Double donation is when both the egg and sperm come from donors. Through our connection with European Sperm Bank, we can also help you find the right sperm donor.
Donor eggs and parenthood
We know that donor conception can feel like a big step, and it’s natural to have a lot of questions. Aspiring parents often wonder what using donor eggs means for their future relationship with their child.
There are two aspects to this. First and foremost, parenthood is defined by love, care and commitment, not genetics. Secondly, when you use donor eggs from European Egg Bank, you are your child’s legal parent, and the donor has no parental rights.
What you need to know about donor eggs
While donor eggs make parenthood possible for many families, it is important to remember that using donor eggs does not come with any guarantees. Like any fertility journey, there can be uncertainties along the way.
Not every egg will survive thawing, and not every egg will fertilise or develop into a suitable embryo. And while many embryo transfers do lead to pregnancy, not all will be successful on the first attempt.
At European Egg Bank, we use carefully selected donors, advanced freezing techniques and thorough quality processes to support the best possible outcomes. Your fertility clinic will also use its expertise and technology to give you the strongest chance of success.
Having an open conversation with your clinic can help you understand what to expect and feel confident in your next steps.
Questions to ask your fertility clinic
When you discuss your treatment plan with your fertility clinic, there are several questions you might want to ask. These may include:
- How many donor eggs do you recommend for my treatment?
- Do you recommend IVF or ICSI?
- Can I use partner sperm or donor sperm?
- What happens if no embryos develop?
- Can remaining embryos be frozen?
- What rules apply in my country and the treatment country?
- What are the total costs for my treatment?
- Does this include storage, shipping, fertilisation, embryo culture and transfer?
Donor eggs FAQs
European Egg Bank donor eggs are vitrified, or frozen, and carefully stored until required for use in fertility treatment.
While it is possible to use fresh donor eggs in fertility treatments, it requires the cycles of the donor and recipient to be closely synchronised, which can make the process longer.
Using vitrified eggs allows for more flexible and predictable treatment timing, a wider selection of donors, and more affordable pricing - all with success rates comparable to fresh eggs..
Donor eggs are fertilised in the lab using In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) techniques. In standard IVF, sperm are mixed with the egg, and the sperm cells must reach, penetrate and fertilise the egg without any additional assistance.
Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) is a type of IVF in which a single healthy sperm cell is injected directly into the egg. By eliminating the need for the sperm cell to reach and penetrate the egg, it can help overcome male-factor infertility challenges.
Double donation is when both the eggs and sperm used in fertility treatment come from donors. Double donation is commonly used by:
- Aspiring single mums by choice who cannot use their own eggs.
- Same-sex female couples who cannot use their own eggs.
- Heterosexual couples where both partners experience fertility challenges.
- Individuals or couples who want to avoid passing on genetic disorders.
- Individuals and couples who have undergone unsuccessful treatment previously.
No, donor eggs do not always become embryos. Some may not survive the thawing process and not every egg will fertilise or develop as expected. High-quality donor eggs and effective treatment planning can help improve the chances of a successful pregnancy.
A blastocyst is an early-stage embryo that forms around five days after an egg is fertilised. Embryos have to reach the blastocyst stage to successfully implant into the uterine wall, and are incubated in the lab until they are ready to transplant.
Yes, embryos are regularly frozen for future use in treatments. This means you have embryos ready should you require another round of treatment or want to grow your family with siblings using the same donor.
The number of donor eggs you need depends on your personal situation and whether you want the option to have more children using the same donor’s eggs in the future.
At European Egg Bank, we offer an Essential Package that includes six eggs, and an Extended Package with eight eggs. Your fertility clinic will be able to recommend the right package and number of eggs for your treatment before you place your order.
Using donor eggs to conceive is a highly personal choice. For some people, it is undoubtedly the right decision. For others, it is not. We recommend finding out as much as you can about donor conception before deciding on your next step. The best way to do this is to book a free consultation with our expert advisers. They can answer your questions and provide any additional information you need.
Book a free consultation
If you have questions about donor eggs and your fertility treatment options, we recommend booking a free consultation with one of our experts to get guidance.