Ægdonation

All about egg donors

Find out what information you can get about the egg donor and what requirements donors must fulfil to be approved.

Learn about the difference between an open and a closed egg donor and the civil law consequences of egg donation.

Book consultation about egg donor IVF

Who are our egg donors?

Most of our egg donors are young Danish women.
 
Many are students or taking a gap year, while others have started families and may have children of their own.
 
They all share a strong altruistic desire to help others. Many of them are also blood or organ donors.

Egg donor profiles

We offer an exclusive opportunity to view detailed profiles of our egg donors before you make your decision.

You can request a link to our database, which features all donors in our programme. Our catalogue includes over 100 active egg donors.

Liza Diers

Information in the egg donor profiles

The profiles include the following information:

  • Basic information (height, weight, hair colour, eye colour)
  • Study/job
  • Hobbies
  • Personality – strengths and weaknesses
  • Details of the donor’s life from childhood, through teenage/youth years and up to now
  • Future plans and dreams
  • Family tree back to the grandparents
  • Childhood photos
  • Some profiles include a letter from the egg donor
Midwife and nurse at Diers Fertility Clinic looking at a scannerscreen

Requirements for egg donors

To be approved as an egg donor, you must fulfil a number of requirements:

  • You must be between 18 and 35 years old,
  • You must be healthy and have no physical or mental illnesses,
  • You must have a BMI below 30,
  • You must not have any genetic or hereditary diseases,
  • There must be no serious or hereditary diseases in the immediate family,
  • You must not be adopted or a donor child.
Book your initial consultation here

Testing and screening of egg donors

All egg donors undergo a thorough medical examination and are tested for the following infectious diseases:

  • HIV,
  • Hepatitis B and C,
  • Chlamydia,
  • Gonorrhoea,
  • Syphilis

Although all egg donors are thoroughly screened, it is important to note that there are no guarantees against underlying conditions that could potentially lead to illness later in life.

Read more about egg donation treatment
Dr. Michala Bluhm Kracht, MD, Chief Medical Officer at Diers Fertility Clinic

Egg donor categories

You can choose between two donor categories:

  • Open egg donor (contactable)
  • Closed egg donor (non-contactable)

Regardless of the category, you will have access to a detailed profile with information about the donor. The difference lies only in whether the donor-conceived child will have the option to contact the egg donor in the future.

Note: If you are undergoing double donation IVF, Danish law requires at least one of the two donors (egg or sperm donor) to be an open donor.

Open egg donor

If you choose an open donor who is contactable, it means the following:

  • From the age of 18, the child can be informed of the identity of their egg donor,
  • If the child wishes, it is possible to contact the donor once for a meeting lasting approximately 1 hour.

Closed egg donor

If you choose a closed donor who is not contactable, this means the following:
 
  • The child cannot learn the identity of their donor at any time,
  • The child is not able to contact their donor at any time.
Embryologist looking into a microscope in Diers Fertility Clinic's laboratory

Contacting an open egg donor

When the child turns 18 and wishes to learn more about their egg donor or meet her, they must contact our clinic.

At that time, we will assist in establishing contact with the egg donor.

It is not permitted to attempt to locate or approach the egg donor independently.

Contact can only be initiated at the request of the child. The egg donor cannot contact the child, and parents are also not allowed to reach out to the donor.

Discover more sperm donors

Rules and legal implications

In Denmark, it is not permitted to operate an egg bank. This means an egg donor will only begin the donation process when a specific recipient is ready to receive the eggs.

Egg donors are allowed to donate up to six times.

The woman who gives birth to the child will be recognised as the legal mother. An egg donor will never be considered the legal mother of a child born using her donated eggs. As such, she will have no legal rights or obligations concerning the donor child.

Smiling Diers baby wearing brown teddy bear jacket

Access the database and view all egg donor profiles

FAQ about egg donors

According to Danish law, an egg donor can donate up to six times. This is to ensure that the number of genetically related children from the same donor is limited.

An egg donor must be between 18 and 35 years old, healthy, have a BMI below 30, and must not have any genetic or hereditary diseases. The donor must also not be adopted or be a donor child themselves.

All donors undergo a medical examination and are tested for infectious diseases such as HIV, hepatitis B and C, chlamydia, gonorrhoea and syphilis. In addition, the egg donor is questioned about diseases in the family for 3 generations. Although the screening is thorough, there is no guarantee that underlying diseases cannot develop later. 

An open egg donor gives the child the opportunity to have her identity revealed when she turns 18 and the opportunity for one meeting. A closed donor remains anonymous and the child cannot get information about her or contact her.

Egg donor profiles contain details such as height, weight, hair and eye colour, education/job, hobbies, personality, family tree, photos of children and in some cases handwritten letters from the donor. This provides a comprehensive insight into the donor’s background and interests.

The egg donor’s cycle can be irregular, which can delay the donation process. The clinic adapts the course of treatment to account for such situations.

An egg donor has no legal rights or obligations regarding the donor-conceived child. The woman who gives birth is considered the child’s legal mother.

When the child turns 18, they can contact the clinic to find out about the donor and possibly arrange a contact. The donor cannot contact the child or the family, and contact can only be made through the clinic.

If pregnancy is not achieved in the first attempt, any frozen blastocysts can be used for a second attempt. We guarantee a minimum of 1 blastocyst for transfer. If only 1 blastocyst is obtained and it does not result in pregnancy, we offer a 40% discount on the next egg donation treatment. The clinic will evaluate the process together with you and discuss the next steps, which may include further treatment or changes to the process.