Receiving Donor Eggs and Embryos

MFS is able to source donor eggs and embryos for treatment for women who for various reasons are unable to (or prefer not to) use their own eggs to conceive with IVF or ICSI treatment.

The service is coordinated by the egg and embryo donation coordinator, Donna Rea-Gardner. The waiting list for egg donation recipients is actively managed, following the introduction of the administration fee and marketing campaign to increase the number of available donor eggs following the changes to the law on donor anonymity in 2005. The majority of available donor eggs continue to come from egg share donors.

Who may benefit from receiving donor eggs?

Women who require IVF or ICSI treatment and who require donor eggs to conceive, for reasons including:

age - as a woman ages she has fewer eggs and as they age too, they may develop chromosomal abnormalities reducing the chance of conceiving and increasing the chance of miscarriage if she does conceive. Over the age of 40, 66% of women have trouble conceiving and 40% of pregnancies that do occur, end in miscarriage
premature menopause
infertility as a result of cancer treatment
ovarian failure
risk of passing on hereditary diseases, eg cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy or fragile ‘X’ syndrome

Who may benefit from receiving donor embryos?

Potential recipients of donor embryos include:

couples who require both donor eggs and donor sperm to conceive
single women who require donor eggs and donor sperm to conceive

Who are the egg and embryo donors?

The donors must meet rigorous screening criteria, including:

being under 36 years old when the eggs were collected
within a normal weight range - ie have a BMI of 22 to 25
have no personal or family history of inherited illness or abnormalities
non-smokers
free of sexually transmitted diseases, HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C
their eggs must be of sufficient quality to give them and the recipient the best chance of conceiving

What does treatment involve?

Potential donor egg recipients liaise with the MFS egg and embryo donation co-ordinator and, if they are self-funding their treatment, will join the recipient waiting list after payment of the appropriate administration fee.

Following an initial consultation, treatment assessment, follow-up appointment, screening, matching and treatment planning appointment and possible counselling, a donor egg recipient will begin IVF or ICSI treatment as recommended by the clinical and scientific teams at MFS.

Go to information about IVF treatment

Go to information about ICSI treatment

Matching

In addition to the CMV status for embryo donors and recipients, MFS matches, as closely as possible, the following characteristics of the donor and recipient:

ethnicity
skin tone
eye colour
hair colour
height
build

MFS takes into account any preferences or restrictions a donor makes when matching a donor with a recipient.

Synchronising the egg recipient and donor

Once matched, the donor and recipient will be treated by different members of the clinical team. Both women begin their down regulation drugs around the same time. After two to three weeks the donor begins her fertility drugs to stimulate the development of egg follicles and the recipient begins HRT to help grow a suitable endometrium. The recipient then begins progesterone pessaries to prepare her uterus to receive the embryos. Following egg collection, fertilisation and embryo transfer, both the donor and recipient will know if they are pregnant within 14 days. A first scan will follow two weeks after any positive pregnancy test.

Identity of donors and recipients

Both the recipient and donor(s) remain anonymous to each other, although the recipient may receive some non-identifying information about the donor(s), such as a description of their physical characteristics and personal interests.

Go to more information on donor identity and the law

What is included in the donor egg recipient treatment cost?

treatment planning
ultrasound monitoring scans
teaching how to give injections
sperm preparation
standard IVF insemination or ICSI insemination of eggs
embryo transfer
embryo freezing and storage for first year (if suitable)
pregnancy test
six week dating scan and/or follow-up to review the treatment cycle

What is not included in the donor egg recipient treatment cost?

initial consultation or follow-up consultation (as appropriate), OR
treatment assessment or repeat screening (as appropriate)
fee for freezing sperm (if required)
fee for donor sperm (if required)
either:
- the HFEA levy for the creation in vitro, or transfer of, embryos, or
- the HFEA levy for using donor sperm (if required)
electronic witnessing fee

How long does treatment take?

Screening a donor and matching a recipient usually takes eight to 12 weeks from initial consultation, although in exceptional circumstances may take longer. Following this, egg sharing for recipients takes an average of eight to 10 weeks from the beginning of the treatment cycle to pregnancy test.

What is included in the donor embryo recipient treatment cost?

treatment planning
ultrasound monitoring scans
embryo transfer
pregnancy test
first scan and/or follow-up to review the treatment cycle

What is not included in the donor embryo recipient treatment cost?

initial consultation or follow-up consultation (as appropriate), OR
treatment planning or repeat screening (as appropriate)
the HFEA levy for the creation in vitro, or transfer of, embryos
electronic witnessing fee

How long does donor embryo recipient treatment take?

Once embryos have been allocated, treatment usually takes up eight weeks, although in exceptional circumstances may take longer.

Costs

Cost of donor egg recipient treatment with IVF at MFS: £5,075

Cost of donor egg recipient treatment with ICSI at MFS: £5,575

Cost of donor embryo recipient treatment with ICSI at MFS: £2,625