Who is it indicated for?
Egg donation is indicated for women with premature ovarian failure, menopause, ovarian failure following chemotherapy or radiotherapy, women with genetic disorders, patients who have repeatedly failed IVF treatments due to poor egg or embryo quality or embryo development, older women (over 44 years old), inaccessible ovaries, or those with poor response, among other causes.
IVF Donor Selection
Donors are between 18 and 30 years of age to optimize the quality of the donated eggs.
The egg donation team conducts a thorough interview with donors to learn about their personal medical history (history of previous and current illnesses, obstetric and reproductive history, psychiatric history, etc.) and their family history (referring to the existence of diseases in the family that could be transmitted to offspring).

Recessive Disease Mutation Carrier Testing
Currently, and in line with the development of scientific knowledge, at FIVAP we have incorporated mutation carrier testing into donor screening. This test evaluates more than 300 hereditary recessive diseases and allows us to determine if there is a reproductive genetic risk with the partner or sperm donor, thus reducing the risk of transmitting any preventable hereditary disease to the offspring.
What is the procedure for the recipient?
Preparing the recipient for embryo transfer is very simple; it requires monitoring endometrial development through vaginal ultrasounds and basal blood estradiol analysis.
For patients who do not reside in Tenerife (on another island, the mainland, or in other countries), this process can be performed in their hometown with their regular gynecologist, following the FIVAP protocol, with communication of the results via telephone, email, or fax. These patients have the option of freezing a semen sample at our Center before beginning treatment, provided the semen quality allows it, in order to facilitate the availability of semen on the day the donor’s oocytes are used.

Thanks to advances in reproductive medicine and genetics itself, it is known that there are a series of modifications in gene expression that are not due to changes in DNA, but rather are related to environmental factors. These changes are called epigenetic changes. They occur in the regulation of the expression of one or more genes. They function as switches, activating or deactivating genes without changing DNA, due to age and exposure to environmental factors (diet, exercise, medications, and chemicals). These changes modify the risk of disease and can be passed from parents to children through gametes or during gestation.

Epigenetic changes also occur in cases of pregnancies with oocyte donation, in which placentation and the gestation period influence whether these switches are activated or not.

Egg donation is an altruistic act and always anonymous, which is why the recipient is not allowed to provide or choose her donor.

In each case, our egg donation team will assign the donor who best matches the phenotypic (physical) and immunological characteristics of the patient/couple and will take into account the woman’s/couple’s wishes, as long as the law allows.

You can consult the position papers of the Spanish Scientific Societies SEF and ASEBIR on this matter.