What Is the Profile of an Egg Donor?
The egg donation process is regulated and requires compliance with various medical and legal criteria. In Spain, the criteria are described in Royal Decree 412/1996 and are as follows:
- Age: Donors must be between 18 and 35 years old, although the ideal age is between 20 and 30 to ensure better egg quality.
- Good physical and mental health: To be a donor, one must undergo a series of tests, including a review of personal and family medical history, a psychological evaluation, a general and gynecological examination, and a blood test to rule out infectious diseases such as HIV, hepatitis, or syphilis. A karyotype study and genetic tests are also performed to rule out mutations in genes associated with hereditary genetic diseases. It is worth mentioning that, at Barcelona IVF, we perform a test on our donors that screens for over 400 possible hereditary diseases, thereby ensuring the highest quality in the selection process.
- Normal reproductive system function: The donor’s ovarian reserve is evaluated through an antral follicle count and measurement of the anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH).
- Body Mass Index (BMI) between 18,5 and 25,9: Overweight can increase the risk of medical complications during the ovarian stimulation and egg retrieval process.
The “Ideal Donor”
A woman aged between 20 and 30 with optimal reproductive health and egg quality would be an ideal donor. In addition, both she and her close family members have to be free of malformations and genetic, congenital, or hereditary diseases. She must also be highly committed to the donation process to ensure proper follow-up.
The donor selection process is carried out by the medical team to achieve the greatest possible physical and blood type similarity with the recipient patient.