If you are a same-sex couple looking to undergo IVF with donor eggs, here are the available destinations:
Spain (ROPA)
Portugal
Finland
UK
Barbados
North Cyprus
Age Limit by the Country for IVF
Spain - 50 (some clinics may support patients up to 52)
The Czech Republic - 49
Greece - 50
North Cyprus - 58 (over the age of 55, will need the approval of the ethics committee, over 45 - the Ministry Of Health approval is mandatory)
Ukraine - No legal limit (not specified by legislation, decided by each clinic)
Poland - No legal limit (not specified by legislation, decided by each clinic)
Latvia - No legal limit (not specified by legislation, decided by each clinic)
Thailand - No legal limit (not specified by legislation, decided by each clinic)
Malaysia - Not specified by legislation, decided by each clinic)
Singapore - The 45 y.o. the age limit was removed on 1 Jan 2020
Choosing an Egg Donor for IVF Abroad
In the majority of countries (e.g. Greece, Poland, the Czech Republic, or Spain) they select the egg donors based on a phenotype matching with the recipient. This means the donor should resemble the recipient in terms of hair, eye, and skin color as much as possible. These rules are because of legal requirements. This means that in some countries patients are not able to choose any donor, while in others (such as Ukraine) they can select a donor who resembles them.
According to international medical associations (ESHRE, ASRM), selecting an egg donor who has some common characteristics with a recipient is recommended. This resemblance should at least cover the color of the eyes, hair, and skin, height, and blood type.
What Information is shared with the recipient about the egg donor?
In Russia, Ukraine, and the United States, in addition, to the donor’s basic physical features (height, weight, and hair color), patients will have information about the donor’s adult/childhood, photos, and others. The shared information may vary from clinic to clinic and country.
The Egg Donor’s Race in IVF Procedure
In Ukraine, Russia, and Poland IVF clinic databases are mainly dominated by egg donors of Caucasian origin. If you are interested in a donor with darker skin, your choice would be IVF centers from Spain, Cyprus, or Greece. African-American or Afro-Caribbean donors are most often found in the USA or Barbados.
How many eggs you will receive from the donor
The exact number of oocytes received from a donor depends on the clinic’s policy. Generally, they should provide a minimum of 6 eggs, which can result in 2 embryos, on condition that your partner’s sperm quality is high enough. Some foreign IVF clinics don have a limit on offered eggs, no matter how many eggs have been retrieved (so-called exclusive donor).
However, it’s important to know that receiving limitless oocytes doesn’t promise a successful result, it depends mainly on their quality when determining how successful the egg donation program would be.
Before you visit a clinic abroad, confirm with the IVF center if they use frozen or fresh eggs. With frozen eggs, most abroad IVF clinics will offer 6-10 oocytes. This number usually refers to frozen eggs – such oocytes need to be thawed first, and this means that the number of eggs intended for fertilization will be smaller, due to the fact that around 50-70% of oocytes are successfully thawed.
IVF Abroad Cost
Ukraine- Egg donation can be as low as 4600 EUR, but some clinics will offer full packages that will be a one-time payment for the entire process of 35,000 EUR - 50000 EUR(all included, even the birth).
Spain- from 5500 EUR with own eggs, from 7500 EUR with egg donation, for a cycle.
In the USA - an average of 12,000EUR for a cycle without medication can be around 1,200 to 2,700EUR for a cycle.
Barbados - an average of 12,000EUR per cycle, without medication.
How Many IVF Cycles Are Needed for a Successful Pregnancy?
When considering your budget and IVF destination you should consider the fact that you may need a couple of IVF cycles to conceive, this means you will have to make the trip to your chosen destination a couple of times for the treatment. It is stated that you may have to do at least 3 IVF cycles to have a successful pregnancy. The number of needed cycles may be bigger if you are older, have certain health issues, etc.
