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

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.
