Oocyte donation

Oocyte donation is the relinquishment of unfertilized oocytes by a donor. These unfertilized oocytes will be donated to women who are unable to produce oocytes themselves but do have a functioning uterus. This means that they are able to conceive using an embryo developed from the donated oocyte and their partner’s (or a sperm donor’s) sperm.

An oocyte donor will undergo nearly a complete IVF treatment, including the hormone injections and the oocyte retrieval.

Who can use donated oocytes?

TFP MC Kinderwens performs treatments using donated oocytes when the patient(s) have a medical reason, such as:

• You don’t have functioning ovaries (for example, after cancer treatments or due to premature menopause)

• You have a long-standing desire to have children, and repeated IVF treatments have shown that conceiving using your own oocytes is near impossible

• The only way for you to have good chances of conceiving is by using donated oocytes

• You’re a carrier of a hereditary disease, and you’re at high risk of passing it on to your child

What is an oocyte bank?

An oocyte bank is how we store and keep the oocytes of healthy women. These will be fertilized using sperm from the patient’s partner, or donor sperm. A fertilized oocyte will then be inserted into the patient’s uterus. There are three oocyte banks in the Netherlands, but the supply of oocytes is currently too low to meet demand.

The waiting list for donated oocytes closed

Unfortunately, it is not possible at this time to apply for treatment using donated oocytes from our oocyte bank.

TFP MC Kinderwens is one of three fertility centers with access to an oocyte bank. The demand for oocytes is much higher than the supply, which is why there is a number of criteria in place that must be met in order to be considered eligible for donated oocytes from our oocyte bank. You can read more about this in our information brochure for oocyte acceptors.

Due to the influx of clients for the oocyte bank, there’s a waiting list in place for these treatments. Please refer to the website for updates on when it’s possible to apply.

Oocyte donors

In the Netherlands, there are two possibilities for oocyte donation. First, a personal donor can be used. Examples of this are usually a sister or close friend of the acceptor. The other option is an anonymous donor. Anonymous donors donate their oocytes to the oocyte bank. Those oocytes are then frozen and stored, to be used for an acceptor’s treatment at a later date.

All potential oocyte donors are medically screened. Their health is examined, as well as the presence of any (hereditary) diseases or disorders in their family. In addition to this, it’s important for them to have a sufficient ovarian reserve. All donors are screened for STIs according to Dutch legislation.