Egg Donation - Matching Donor, Supervision, Coordination

Egg Donation

Freedom of Choice

Egg donation for IVF may help impregnate women and help them give birth to a healthy child. This is possible even in cases of infertility due to prior illness, chromosomal abnormalities, early menopause, premature ovarian failure, or poor egg quality. It is often the only solution next to adoption and Ukraine is one of the few European countries where this treatment is fully legal, regulated, and available for both – married couples and single women.

What is oocyte (egg) donation and how does it work?

Oocyte (egg) donation is a method of assisting women without healthy oocytes to have children. The egg donation procedure entails in vitro fertilization technology (IVF), with the donated eggs being fertilized in a laboratory with sperm from the receiving couple’s partner, or sperm donor (for single women). Following fertilization and growth of the embryos for either 3 or 5 days, one or several embryos are transferred to the uterus of the recipient. If pregnancy is established, the receiving woman becomes a mother by carrying the developing baby through the full term of pregnancy and childbirth.

Once an egg donor is chosen and has completed a routine medical assessment, detailed screening, psychological screening, consent forms and counselling, the medical procedure can start. Here’s what happens during a fresh embryo transfer:

both, the intended mother and a donor begin the process of synchronizing their menstrual cycles by taking oral contraceptive pills;
the donor also takes medication to stimulate her ovaries and promote the growth of follicles, which contain the eggs;
during the ovarian stimulation process, the intended mother takes medication to support the development of the endometrium (lining of the uterus) in preparation for an embryo transfer;
once the ovarian stimulation phase ends, the eggs will be retrieved from the donor and fertilized with the intended father’s sperm (or in the case of a single woman – with the sperm of an anonymous donor) to create embryos;
the embryos are transferred to the intended mother who will carry the pregnancy (some embryos can also be cryopreserved (frozen) for future use);
14 days after an embryo transfer, a blood test is carried out on the intended mother to determine if pregnancy has been achieved.

In some cases, subject to approval and/or based on recommendations of a reproduction specialist, the program may be done without synchronizing menstruation cycles. In such case the embryos will be cryopreserved (frozen) and later, once the intended mother is ready, towed and transferred.

Why choose Fertility Ukraine?

We offer you the right to choose!We specialize in complicated cases of matching egg donors when intended parents wish to have a perfect match based on both, visible characteristics and personality. Should your needs not be met with local candidates, we may also extend our search to neighbouring countries, e.g. Russia and Belarus (where such treatment is also legal). In addition to photographs and videos, we may also offer you to meet candidates in person or have a video conference with the chosen donor candidate. Personal contact very often makes this extremely important decision much easier and more comfortable for intended parents.Furthermore, upon the consent of both parties, you may choose a semi-open program where your and the donor’s identity remain undisclosed to another party. In other words, you may share this via the agency but without providing any personal data. Our legal team will take care of all the formalities, allowing you to manage relations with a donor in a custom-tailored direct or indirect contract.Alternatively, we could also arrange a standard program with an anonymous donor for you. Under this arrangement, you would be able to choose a candidate based on her phenotype (eye and hair colour, skin tone, height, weight, etc.). In such cases, it is likely we could obtain pictures of the donor (based on her consent) to make the choice easier for you.Finally and not least important, we are most likely the only agency in Ukraine that conducts a compulsory psychological screening of all its donors. In addition to the standard MMPI-2 test, our egg donors are also interviewed by a duly qualified psychologist. The interview complies with screening recommendations by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM). It is based on a methodology that was developed specifically for our agency by the Institute of Social and Political Psychology within the National Academy of Educational Sciences of Ukraine.
We do it by the book Fertility Ukraine works in strict compliance with local laws and we always strive to fully comply with best practices and ethical standards established by the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) and American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM). Our goal is to set new industry benchmarks in Ukraine for client care, professionalism, and for having an ethical approach to all parties involved in the treatment with assisted reproduction technology.
We care about our clients Our services are structured similarly to those of a law firm. Our agency does not sell any packages or goods. We act as your local representative when it comes to interacting with medical institutions, donors, gestational carriers, consulates, etc. Our experienced legal team will prepare all necessary documents, while our case coordinators will closely work with you to ensure that you feel comfortable and safe, so that you may fully concentrate on fulfilling your dream of parenthood, leaving it up to us to handle organizational matters, communication, and paperwork. Furthermore, we care about your privacy. Fertility Ukraine works in line with internal data protection protocols, where any information that relates to our clients is shared on a need-to-know basis between agency employees or with third parties. Additionally, we use GDPR and HIPAA compliant end-to-end encrypted data storage and file sharing solutions to keep your data safe.

How much does the program cost?

The total egg donor cost combined with the IVF program ranges from approximately EUR 11.000 to, on average, EUR 17.000. In the former case, this involves an anonymous donor (chosen based on phenotypic criteria, such as race, eye and hair colour, skin tone, height, weight, etc.). The latter case foresees a semi-open or open program that involves an extended search with a wider search criteria, photographs or videos of the chosen candidate and her child(ren), as well as the possibility to meet her in person or online.

This price range includes the following: medical and psychological screening of the donor, karyotyping of donor, agency and legal fees, clinical fees, costs of medications, donor compensation, and cryopreservation of the embryos that remain after the transfer.

Please note that the fees and costs indicated here are only estimates and may require adjustments on a case-by-case basis. Indicated estimates do not cover medical and genetic screening of intended parents and genetic testing of embryos.

Program with Semi-Open or Open Donor

Egg Donation

* Please note that fertility treatment has numerous elements that may influence the total cost. Each case is unique, as well as the needs and expectations of the involved parties and “one size fits all” solutions don’t apply here. Once you provide us with more information by submitting an online application formhere we will be able to offer you a personalized price quote for our services and related costs, addressing your current situation and requirements.

Please note that during COVID-19, we attempt limit physical contact as much as possible. Consequently, it might be possible handle all the arrangements with no need to travel to Ukraine, at least at the initial stages of a program. For more details please see our COVID-related notice here.

Questions
and
Answers:

Questions and Answers:

Are commercial donations of oocytes (eggs) available in Ukraine?

Yes, commercial donations of oocytes are legally available in Ukraine.

What are the eligibility criteria (donate eggs qualifications) for a patient to receive donated oocytes?

A woman may receive treatment with donated oocytes in the following cases:

acquired or congenital absence of oocytes or absence caused by natural menopause;
risk of transmission of hereditary diseases;
repeated IVF failures with poor embryo quality and poor ovarian response to controlled stimulation and repeated receipt of low-quality oocytes and embryos.

Is sperm donation available in Ukraine?

Yes, infertility treatment with donated sperm is available and is regulated in Ukraine. It is available to both, married couples and single women.

Who may become a sperm donor?

A sperm donor may be a male, age 20 to 40. The donor is required to have a healthy biological child, no negative phenotypic manifestations, good somatic health, absence of genetic (inherited) diseases, absence of harmful habits, such as drugs or alcohol abuse, etc. An additional requirement is normospermia (the condition of producing a normal volume and quality of semen).

Sperm donors are screened for HIV, syphilis, Hepatitis B and C prior to donation with compulsory additional screening no earlier than 6 months after donating. Only cryopreserved sperm may be used for assisted reproduction.

Is sperm donation confidential or open?

Sperm donation is strictly confidential and there shall be no direct contact between the donor and the recipient. The choice of donor is made by the recipient (a couple or a single woman) based on phenotypic characteristics of the donor (available in his medical record).

Is embryo donation legal in Ukraine?

Yes, donation of embryos is legal and regulated in Ukraine. Such cases are not very common though, as only excessive embryos of a patient that remain cryopreserved after the birth of a child may be donated to other patients (a couple or a single woman). Such donations are in most cases confidential.

What are the eligibility criteria for a patient to receive donated embryos?

Although, no clear criteria are established by law, normally, the same requirements as in relation to egg donation will be applied by a fertility clinic.

Is egg sharing legal and practiced in Ukraine?

Yes it is legal and possible in case two patients (or couples) decide to use the same open or semi-open donor and share related costs. This approach could save money, but you should not expect the price for such a procedure to be cut in half. The drawback to this procedure is that it might yield fewer available eggs to each patient and consequently a lower number of embryo transfer attempts. There is also a higher risk related to issues with synchronization of cycles in case of a fresh transfer.

Can a single woman receive donated gametes or embryos?

Yes, single women may receive infertility treatment with donated oocytes or embryos.

In which cases can a clinic refuse treatment?

One of the following conditions may disqualify a woman from IVF treatment and obtaining donated oocytes:

somatic or mental illness, which may negatively affect pregnancy and childbirth;
uterine body length less than 35 mm;
acute inflammatory diseases of any localization at the beginning of the ART treatment program;
congenital malformations or acquired deformities of the uterine cavity that make implantation of the embryo(s) and pregnancy impossible;
benign uterine tumours that deform the uterine cavity and/or require immediate treatment;
malignant neoplasms of any localization.

What screening tests for patients are required prior to treatment?

In Ukraine, there are compulsory medical screening requirements for intended parents prior to enrolment in an ART program (the list may be shorter in surrogacy programs or if gametes of one of the intended parents are not used to create embryos).

A standard compulsory medical screening for women includes:

evaluation by physician of somatic health and absence of contraindications for pregnancy (if applicable);
blood type and Rhesus factor;
clinical blood test;
coagulogram;
blood tests for syphilis, HIV, Hepatitis B and C (not older than 3 months);
blood tests (IgM, IgG) for toxoplasmosis, Chlamydia trachomatis, Cytomegalovirus, and Rubella Disease;
bacterioscopic analysis of swab obtained from the vagina, urethra, and cervical canal;
cytological analysis of swab obtained from cervix;
general gynaecological examination;
ultrasound examination of pelvic organs;
blood tests for Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), Prolactin (PRL), Follitropin (FSH), Luteinizing hormone (LH), Progesterone (P4), and Estradiol (E2).

A standard compulsory medical screening for men includes:

blood type and Rhesus factor;
blood tests for syphilis, HIV, Hepatitis B and C (not older than 3 months);
Semen Analysis (Spermiogram).

Please note that additional testing may be requested by the physician in charge of the program.

It is also highly recommended that intended parents who plan on using their own gametes also do Karyotyping, or a chromosome study. An absence or presence of chromosomal abnormalities may influence the choice of treatment (e.g. it may influence the decision to use own or donated gametes, etc.) or a decision on genetic testing of the foetus at the early stages of pregnancy.

All of the listed tests and examinations may be done in Ukraine upon your first visit to the clinic. Nevertheless, to facilitate the process we recommend that intended parents conduct the following tests that are required in every scenario before visiting a Ukrainian clinic:

Both intended parents – blood type and Rhesus factor, blood tests for syphilis, HIV, Hepatitis B and C;
Intended parents whose gametes will be used to create embryos – Karyotyping and Spermiogram (in case of intended father).

Who may become an egg donor?

All potential donors of eggs are required by law to fulfil the following requirements:

age between 18 and 36 years (our agency normally works with donors who are 21-30 years old);
previous birth of own healthy child;
absence of negative phenotypic manifestations;
satisfactory somatic health;
absence of contraindications for participation in an oocyte (egg) donation program;
absence of genetic (inherited) diseases; and
absence of harmful habits, such as drugs or alcohol abuse, etc.

The above-mentioned requirements apply to all type of oocyte donors, confidential, semi-confidential, and open. Thus, even if a family member acts as the donor, she should also comply with the discussed legal requirements.

Ukrainian law also recommends that a donor shall make no more than 8 IVF attempts (donations) and every subsequent attempt should be done no earlier than 2 months after the previous one.

Does the egg donation procedure involve a medical screening?

Yes, of course! Every potential oocyte donor is required to go through a meticulous medical screening that includes:

evaluation by physician of somatic health;
blood type and Rhesus factor;
clinical blood test;
coagulogram;
blood tests for syphilis, HIV, Hepatitis B and C (not older than 3 months);
blood tests (IgM, IgG) for toxoplasmosis, Chlamydia trachomatis, Cytomegalovirus, and Rubella Disease;
bacterioscopic analysis of swab obtained from the vagina, urethra, and cervical canal;
cytological analysis of swab obtained from cervix;
general gynecological examination;
ultrasound examination of pelvic organs;
blood tests for Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), Prolactin (PRL), Follitropin (FSH), Luteinizing hormone (LH), Progesterone (P4), and Estradiol (E2).

Additionally, our agency requires that all potential oocyte donors do Karyotyping (a chromosome study).

Is egg donation for IVF anonymous or open?

Both options are available. The law requires that clinics secure confidentiality of their donors. At the same time, patients are allowed to bring their own donors (e.g. relatives or close friends that fulfil qualification requirements) or they may bring a donor matched by the agency (for more information see here).

At Fertility Ukraine we offer three different options:

open donor – this is when both parties are introduced to each other, may exchange personal data, photos, and keep in touch even after the treatment is successfully finished;
semi-open donor – this option allows Intended Parents to obtain additional information about a donor, including her photographs and videos, sometimes photos of her child, etc. At the same time no personal information and contact details will be disclosed. Any contacts between intended parents and the donor in this case is administered by the agency;
confidential donor – the donor will be matched based on the description and standard set of features, in some cases photographs may be available. There is no contact between Intended Parents and a donor.

In all cases, relations between Intended Parents and a donor are based on mutual consent of all parties to disclose/exchange information and are duly documented in written form. The consent form or contract may be either a direct one or executed via our agency (in which the agency acts as a veil to keep information confidential).

Will my identity be disclosed to the donor?

Your identity will not be disclosed in a confidential or semi-open donation program. However, in an open donation program personal data and photos can be exchanged, and communication with the donor is possible even after the treatment is successfully completed.

Is donor compensation allowed?

A contract is not required with an anonymous donor (in which case most formalities are handled via respective consent forms and waivers). In a semi-open donation program, our agency will contract a donor on your behalf. You could have a direct contract with an open donor (to regulate all details of possible future contacts, confidentiality, etc.)

What information is disclosed in relation to the anonymous donor?

The following information is normally available in relation to any egg donors (including anonymous ones):

race;
height;
weight;
blood type;
hair structure (straight, wavy, curly) and colour;
eyes colour, size, form (European or Asian);
face (round, oval, narrow);
forehead (high, low, regular);
nose (large, medium, small), nose form (straight, with a hump, snub-nosed, wide);
constitution (normosthenic, asthenic, hypersthenic).

Is it possible to see a photograph of the donor?

Yes, when choosing an open or semi-open donor option. In some cases, subject to a donor’s consent, you may also be able to see some photographs of the anonymous donor.

Can I meet the donor?

Yes, when choosing an open or semi-open donor option. Our agency can arrange a meeting for you to get acquainted, discuss any questions you may have and help you make a decision.

How do you match a donor?

In most cases, the oocyte donors who successfully pass medical and psychological screenings are matched based on their physical resemblance to the recipient. We will follow your “wish list” (information provided in our on-line application form) and once we find the matching candidate we will provide you with our report, outlining the available details about the candidate.

Then, if you find a candidate or several who are acceptable, depending on the chosen donation option (anonymous, semi-open, or open) we will either proceed to the medical part with the selected donor, or, in case of a semi-open or open donor, may organize some additional checks and a contact between you and the candidate, before you make your final decision.

What additional donor information is available?

The anonymous donor option affords limited donor information to Intended Parents and is usually limited to phenotype (eye and hair colour, skin tone, height, weight, etc.) In some cases, upon the donor’s consent, some photographs of the donor would be made available.

If a semi-open or open donor option is chosen, the scope and volume of the disclosed information is negotiable on a case-by-case basis and, upon the written consent of the donor, may include photographs and videos of the donor, her child, her social network profiles, information about her education, interests, hobbies, etc. In addition to a psychological evaluation, we may also conduct a background check (based on official registers), IQ tests, etc.

Additionally, intended parents are often able to meet the candidate in person or communicate with her online and ask questions. Such personal communication is often much more informative and allows intended parents to make an educated decision much easier than numerous pages of reports and summaries.

What if I have special requirements in relation to the donor?

Most intended parents do and we always strive to find a candidate who will meet all of your expectations.

Before we start our search for a perfect donor, we will work together with you to create a “wish list” that will contain both: “must have” criteria and “would like to have” criteria. The list will be based on information provided by you in our on-line application form and completed during our follow up communication. Once the list is complete, we will agree on a program that fits your needs and will start our work.

Please keep in mind that the longer the “wish list” is the more time and effort it may take to check all the boxes. Consequently, to keep things within realistic timeframes and a reasonable budget, we always recommend sticking to not more than 5-7 main criteria and just follow your instincts in relation to the candidates that will meet them. There is no point to list 20+ items, as it may take years to find a match and then you may get disappointed with some feature that was not listed, and the search will go on indefinitely.

Can I bring my own donor (a friend or a relative)?

Yes, provided that your donor meets all the legal eggs donation requirements, such as age, own child, etc., and passes the compulsory medical screening.

What is the fee payment structure and payment schedule?

Agency Fees and Third-Party Costs:

At Fertility Ukraine we are fully transparent in what we do, how we do it, and how we charge for our services and handle any third-party expenses. Unlike most other Ukrainian agencies that charge a “package” fee that covers “everything” (creating an inevitable conflict of interest, since the less they spend on your behalf the more they earn), we clearly distinguish our fees from any third-party expenses that are handled separately and are charged at cost. We provide our clients with regular reports, confirming receipts, etc. This approach allows us to be on your side all way through your journey, since we represent your interests and act on your behalf, rather than trying to “sell” you something.

Payment Structure and Schedule:

We will charge you a portion of our fees at the initial stage, together with signing of the agency agreement. The remaining portion of the agency fee will be charged in additional instalments, upon achieving certain milestones in the selected program. Third-party costs and expenses may be also split into several instalments, for the additional comfort of intended parents. For some, a minor fee is added based on a separate contract if our agency also acts as your escrow agent, managing your program costs and making sure that all costs and expenses are paid in a duly and timely manner.

Visit our OfficeStudentska Street 5-7 B 04050, Kyiv, Ukraine MON-FRI 10:00 – 19:00