Donation program

Donation takes place with the most stringently controlled matching donors.

In selecting donors both the phenotypic characteristics of the recipients as well as their blood types are considered.

The comprehensive genetic screening implemented, increases the likelihood of having a healthy child.

Embryolab is one of the few Clinics in Europe to apply a psychological evaluation by employing the MMPI-2. psychometric test..

Who said it wasn't possible?

Oocyte donation

Oocyte donation ensures the highest success rate for women who have:

Early menopause or experience pre-menopause
Repeated IVF failures
History of miscarriages
History of poor oocyte quality
A hereditary disease

How are the donors screened?

To be accepted to the program, candidate donors must be under 30 years of age, healthy, of good appearance and without any significant medical or hereditary issues. External characteristics (hair color, eye color, height, weight) are recorded in order to find the right match for each recipient.

Information: The candidate donor is informed of the program’s requirements, the medication scheme they need to follow for the process of oocyte collection, the potential risks and the legal framework.

Only around 40-50% of the candidates pass the five evaluation stages and are accepted onto the donors' list at Embryolab.

What is the legal framework in Greece?

The legal framework for egg and embryo donation in Greece is defined as:

Recipients of donations in Greece can be women up to 54 years old.
The donation must be made anonymously.

Τ. Both the donor and the recipient sign their corresponding consent forms before starting the procedure, as the law requires.

In accordance with the current Greek law, the donation procedure is undertaken in complete confidentiality on the part of both the donor and the recipient.

Background: A very detailed history of their past will be completed for each donor, including lifestyle, family and level of education.

Medical examination: Donor candidates undergo a range of blood and genetic tests to ascertain that they are in good physical and reproductive health. These examinations include:

infectious diseases (Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, VDRL, HIV I and II)
Blood type and Rhesus type
Full blood count
Check for anemia
Testing for Cystic Fibrosis
Hormonal control
Test of coagulation mechanisms
Pap Smear

Finally, they undergo a vaginal ultrasound examination to determine the accurate position and function of their ovaries.

Genetic screening:

The genetic testing of all potential egg donors is a very important part of their screening at Embryolab. The aim is to maximize the chances for a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby.

All potential donors go through a series of steps:

Step 1: Personal interview

At this stage the specialised counsellor receives a detailed family history of the potential donor whereby the good health of the donor as well as her immediate family is confirmed. Candidate donors with a family history of medical disorders such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, or various cancers are excluded.

Step 2: Peripheral blood karyotype

The karyotype check on all donors is a basic part of the genetic screening. Candidate donors shown to have some chromosomal abnormality are immediately rejected from the egg donation program.

Step 3: Screening for common single-gene disorders

Thalassemia and cystic fibrosis are two of the most frequent gene disorders found in the Caucasian population. Checking all candidate donors for these 2 hereditary conditions is a part of the initial genetic check. Any candidate confirmed with one of the two above conditions is rejected immediately.

Additional genetic screening

For those who are carriers of other genetic conditions such as Fanconi anemia, Tay-Sachs, Fragile X and hemophilia, additional genetic screening may be undergone to exclude the likelihood of the child inheriting such a condition.

Genetic screening for rare mutations

Any individual may carry certain rare mutations. The chances of such rare mutations expressing themselves are extremely few and can only happen when the spermatozoa and the oocyte carry the same mutation. The conducting of a more extensive check on the candidate donor renders the donor program that much safer, thus ensuring the birth of a healthy child.

Psychological Evaluation:

Embryolab has developed its own original mental health evaluation program for all candidate donors. The aim of the program is to provide the greatest degree of safety to those couples who wish to use the donation programs.

The procedure is carried out entirely by a specialised clinical psychologist and comprises two stages:

The interview with the clinical psychologist. At this stage, the candidate donor answers questions related to her personal, family and medical history.
The psychometric personality test. This test, known as the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2) is globally recognized as the most valid and reliable personality test. Each candidate donor fills in the polyphasic questionnaire to verify her sincerity and good mental state.

Put together, the personal interview and the MMPI provide the most reliable picture of the mental makeup of the individual, allowing for the safest evaluation of the suitability or not of the donors to take part in the egg donation program.

Embryolab is one of the very few Clinics in Europe and the only one in Greece which applies a psychological evaluation with the use of the specific psychometric test.

What is the legal framework in Greece?

The legal framework for egg and embryo donation in Greece is defined as:

Recipients of donations in Greece can be women up to 54 years old.
The donation must be made anonymously.

Both the donor and the recipient sign their corresponding consent forms before starting the procedure, as the law requires. In accordance with the current Greek law, the donation procedure is undertaken in complete confidentiality on the part of both the donor and the recipient.

Sperm donors

Embryolab collaborates with accredited sperm banks abroad where the donors are selected on the basis of strict criteria regarding both their fertility and their physical and mental health. All the samples are accompanied with a donor’s health certificate.

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Embryo donations

Embryolab operates an embryo donation program from selected donors for couples and women who need both egg and sperm donors.

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How can I become an egg donor?

For a woman to become a donor she must meet the following prerequisites and criteria:

Age:18-30
Be physically and mentally healthy
Undergo the required medical examinations: blood, urine tests for contagious diseases (hepatitis B and C, HIV and syphilis, etc.), gynecological tests (swab test, vaginal culture test)
Have already signed all the relevant legal documents on donation consent
To have passed the personality test.

Egg collection:

Once the candidate donor is deemed suitable, the ovarian stimulation treatment can start (lasting around 10-12 days) aiming at developing the ovarian follicles. When they reach a satisfactory size (up to 18 mm) the eggs, or so called oocytes, are collected. This procedure takes around 10 minutes and is realized always under mild sedation. It takes the donors between 30 and 60 minutes as a rule to recover and resume their everyday activities as usual.

The egg donors do not run any risk, the likelihood of pregnancy in the future remains unaffected.

Can I have IVF treatment with donor oocytes? Will the baby take any features from my DNA?

It is a fact that egg donation has helped many women to experience the joy of pregnancy and motherhood. In this procedure eggs from a suitable donor and spermatozoa from your partner would be used. This means that the embryo will not take any genetic material from you. However, the endometrial life greatly influences the embryo. Research has proven that the environment of the uterus determines the state of health of a human until adulthood. On the other hand, the child will of course take elements of your character, since our personalities are formed during our upbringing and are not determined genetically. For that reason, I think that you should place great importance on the choice of the Assisted Reproduction Clinic you choose so that you’re sure that the necessary genetic and psychological checks are carried out thoroughly on the donor. At Embryolab, the donation program follows strict selection and control procedures

Once the IVF treatment succeeds, will the birth have to be carried out through caesarean section?

The manner of birth is not determined by the manner of fertilisation, but by the course of the pregnancy, whether complications may arise and by how the child birth itself will progress. Therefore, birth by caesarean section is by no means inevitable after IVF. It is of greater importance that you give birth safely, whether that is done naturally or by caesarean, and that you return home with a healthy child.