Information about donors

Egg donors are young fertile women aged under 35 years old, according to the Greek legislation, (at Newlife we accept donors under 30 years old) who following special testing and investigations are accepted in our egg donation program.

Their motivation in many cases is driven by their altruistic instincts and they want to help other women achieve their dream of having a family, as they have had friends or family members that have suffered from infertility. Many also choose to donate as an extra source of income to support their studies or their families. All egg donors however are also entitled to receive compensation or expenses as specified by the Greek Legislation.

The main assessment categories that they need to go through to be recruited are:

Medical history and physical examination
Testing for infectious diseases
Chromosome Analysis
Screening for inheritable diseases
Family medical history
Psychometric assessment

It is important to understand that not all young women can become egg donors. They must meet a number of criteria in order to be suitable candidates. Apart from having normal or negative blood tests for pathological conditions they also need to have a clear history of any gynaecological conditions that would affect their ovarian reserve or egg quality.

Egg donor requirements

Blood tests performed on egg donor by Newlife IVF Greece:

Hepatitis B (anti-Hbc, HbsAG)
Hepatitis C (anti-HCV)
HIV I+II
Syphilis (RPR/VDRL)
CMV infection status (IgG & IgM)
Screening for genital tract infections
Cervical (Pap) smear test
Full Blood count
Ferritin/Iron levels
Blood Group & Rhesus factor

b-Thalassemia (HbA2) trait and sickle cell disease trait, as these conditions are more prominent in the Mediterranean population
G-6-PD
Just before the donor's egg collection Nuclear Acid Amplification Test (NAAT) for Hepatitis B (HBV), Hepatitis C (HCV) and HIV
Karyotype (46 chromosomes)
Fragile X
Cystic Fibrosis (80%)
SMA - Spinal Muscular Atrophy
HTLV (Human t-lymphotropic virus 1 & 2)
Covid (Real time PCR)

Family history

All donors also are asked for a detailed family history and we ensure that nothing concerning is found in her family history:

History of stroke, heart attack, heart defects, high blood pressure, anemia, hemophilia, leukemia, Crohn’s disease, colorectal cancer (<50 yrs), hay fever, thyroid disease, kidney disease, diabetes, Parkinson’s, MS, cerebral palsy, depression, schizophrenia, autism, muscular dystrophy, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, deafness, blindness, asthma, eczema, acne, varicose veins, Tay- Sachs, Down’s, breast cancer (<45yrs), obesity, cleft lip or palate.

An extended carrier screen is a type of genetic test that can tell you whether one carries a gene for a certain genetic disorder. It is something that we can indeed perform, but we do not routinely recommend, as the conditions detected are very rare. It is an expensive process but if one wishes to carry this out, what we suggest is that the male partner performs and then if something comes up, then the egg donor is specifically tested for this specific disorder.

Ethnicity and characteristics

Egg donors in Greece must be residents of our country, according to the legislation. The majority of Newlife egg donors have a Greek heritage. Depending on which part of Greece they originate from, Greek women can have a very different appearance. Women originating from the islands can look different from women coming from the mainland, the Peloponnese, Epirus or Macedonia. Appearances may differ regarding the facial structure (the shape of the nose or the lips and even the eyebrow thickness), the skin tone (some can be just as pale as they can be dark), the height and of course the hair and eye colour (fairing from blonde to dark brown or even black). For this reason, Newlife has been able to cater for recipient needs of various ethnic backgrounds, including Caucasian, Indian, Arab, Scandinavian, Hispanic and Middle Eastern. The International Patient Manager, Ms Chrysa Karakosta and several other members of the team hold weekly meetings and closely match recipients to egg donors based on facial and body characteristics, specific requests and other interests like hobbies and educational background.

Blood group matching to the woman having treatment or the couple is something that Newlife try to achieve for every single case, as this allows patients to select when and if they will inform the child regarding the donation process.

Many also do have children of their own or a documented pregnancy. As advertising is not legal, most egg donors are recruited only by word of mouth. The fact that Newlife looks after its donors well is confirmed by the excellent reputation the clinic has in the donor community and that the clinic is the first choice for any young woman wishing to donate her eggs in Thessaloniki. Over the past 9 years, the clinic has never had any donors hospitalised post-treatment and have not had any cases of ovarian hyperstimulation (OHSS). Looking well after egg donors and following a balanced stimulation regime during their treatment results in a very good number of high-quality eggs. This is probably the most important parameter that affects embryo quality.