Two hands holding in agreen background

IVF with donor eggs and partner sperm

In our IVF department, we take you by the hand throughout the process if you have decided to fulfil your pregnancy wish through egg donation.

Book a free consultation regarding IVF/ICSI with donor eggs and get access to our extensive donor catalogue with more than 100 active egg donors.

Book consultation here

IVF with donor eggs and partner sperm may be right for you if:

  • The woman has entered early menopause.
  • Previous IVF/ICSI treatments have been unsuccessful.
  • No viable eggs have been found in the woman.
  • The woman has had her ovaries removed or undergone radiation/chemotherapy.
  • There is a risk of passing on a genetic condition from the woman.
  • The woman is approaching the age limit of 46 for fertility treatment.
Book a consultation here

IVF with donor eggs and partner sperm involves the following steps:

  • 1. The initial phase
  • 2. Choosing an egg donor
  • 3. Tests and examinations
  • 4. Egg retrieval and fertilisation
  • 5. Preparation for embryo transfer
  • 6. Embryo transfer and subsequent pregnancy test
Midwife and nurse at Diers Fertility Clinic looking at a scannerscreen

1. The initial phase

Before the treatment programme can begin, you need to book an initial consultation. Read more about the initial consultation here.

You can already start considering whether you want to use an open or closed donor.

After the initial consultation, a number of tests must be done. Further down the page you can see an overview of the tests that are required before treatment can begin. All tests can be done here at the clinic or in at a test laboratory near you.

Once you have received the test results, we will book you in for a consultation with our fertility doctor. Here, the doctor will go through the further course of treatment in detail.

The last step involves collecting a sperm sample from the man and freezing the it at the clinic. This ensures that it is prepared for fertilisation of the donated eggs in the laboratory.

Book your appointment here

2. Choosing an egg donor

Now it’s time to find an egg donor. Via our egg donor database you can get information about all the donors. 

Egg banking is not permitted in Denmark, which means that donated eggs cannot be stored unfertilised. Therefore, we only contact the egg donor for start-up when we have a patient who is interested in using her as a donor. Only then can we start the preparatory treatment of the egg donor.

This means that there may be a waiting period due to the donor’s circumstances, and it is therefore recommended that you select several donors as possible matches for you. This way, we can most likely offer you treatment faster.

Learn more about egg donors
Nadine, fertility coordinator at Diers Fertility Clinic

Open vs closed egg donor: What does it mean?

Closed egg donor:

The child cannot find out who the donor is and cannot contact the donor.

Open egg donor:

From the age of 18, the child can get the identity of the donor, and 1 contact with the donor will be possible.

3. Tests

Before treatment can begin, both the woman and the man will need to undergo some tests:

Tests of the woman

  • Pap smear (max. 3 years old)
  • Chlamydia and gonorrhoea (swab must be max. 6 months old)
  • Blood tests:
  • HIV (HIV 1-2)
  • Hepatitis B (HBsAG + HBcAB)
  • Hepatitis C (HCV antibody)
  • TSH + TPO
  • Vitamin D
  • Ferritin
  • Rubella (only needed if you are not vaccinated).

Additional tests can be arranged with the doctor.

Tests of the man

  • Sperm analysis
  • Blood tests:
  • HIV (HIV 1-2)
  • Hepatitis B (HBsAG + HBcAB)
  • Hepatitis C (HCV antibody)
  • NAT test
  • Vitamin D

Additional tests can be arranged with the doctor.

4. Egg retrieval and fertilisation

Once you have been assigned an egg donor, she will begin hormone treatment, followed by egg retrieval.

The number of eggs donated varies from donor to donor, so we cannot predict how many eggs you will receive. The eggs will be fertilised in the laboratory with the partner sperm, which is now thawed for the procedure.

Book a non-binding consultation
Embryologist at a microscope next to a screen showing sperm cells

Development to blastocysts

Over the next few days, our skilled embryologists will monitor the development of the fertilised eggs in the laboratory. Only eggs that develop into blastocysts are suitable for transfer to the uterus. Any additional blastocysts will be frozen for future use.

We guarantee at least one blastocyst in egg donation treatment. If only one blastocyst is achieved and it does not result in pregnancy, we offer a 40% discount on the next egg donation treatment.

You will be kept informed throughout the process about how many eggs have been fertilised and how many eggs have reached the blastocyst stage.

Fertility clinic staff at scanner

5. Preparation for embryo transfer

Before a fertilised egg (blastocyst) can be transferred into the uterus, you as a woman must be optimally prepared to hopefully become pregnant.

This can be done in your own cycle (if possible), with hormone injections or with oestradiol tablets and a progesterone supplement.

You will receive a treatment plan that is reviewed with a specialist from our experienced treatment team so you know exactly what to take and when.

Some women need to “reset” their cycle before starting hormone therapy (down-regulation), but this is of course customised individually.

The process for the different preparatory treatments is as follows:

Natural cycle

  • Contact the clinic on the 1st day of your period
  • Book a scan on the cycle day agreed with the clinic or send the scan report to the clinic
  • Administer a trigger shot when the leading follicle measures 17–20 mm.
  • Start progesterone supplementation 3 days later
  • Embryo transfer 6-7 days later

Modified natural cycle

  • Contact the clinic on the 1st day of your period
  • Start hormone injections on the 2nd-3rd day of your period
  • Book a scan on the cycle day agreed with the clinic or send the scan report to the clinic
  • Administer a trigger shot when the leading follicle measures 17–20 mm
  • Start progesterone supplementation 3 days later
  • Embryo transfer 6-7 days later

Substituted cycle

  • Contact the clinic on the 1st day of your period
  • Start tablets from the 2nd day of your period (3 times daily)
  • Ultrasound scan after 10-12 days of treatment or send the scan report to the clinic
  • If the uterine lining is satisfactory, plan to start progesterone supplementation
  • Embryo transfer 5 days later

6. Embryo transfer and subsequent pregnancy test

The embryo transfer is a simple procedure that most women find completely painless. The blastocyst is placed in the uterus using a small catheter. At the same time, we perform an abdominal ultrasound to ensure the blastocyst is positioned perfectly.

After the transfer, you will need to continue taking the prescribed tablets and suppositories until the pregnancy test result is available. If the test is positive, the hormone treatment will continue until the 12th week of pregnancy.

Read more about embryo transfer

Want access to our egg donor database?
Contact us here