Donor egg IVF: the hardest part is the decision.

It is considered when your own eggs are unlikely to give you a baby, or should not be used.

The embryo is made from a donor's egg and your partner's sperm, and you carry the pregnancy. Common reasons: early menopause (premature ovarian insufficiency), ovaries removed or damaged by surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy, and very low ovarian reserve. It is also raised after repeated cycles with no usable embryos, and when a serious genetic condition would otherwise be passed on. Egg quality falls with age and cannot be restored.

Egg donation in India is governed by the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021, and the rules are strict.

Only a registered ART bank may screen and provide an egg donor; a clinic cannot find one directly. The donor must be 23 to 35 years old, may donate only once in her life, and no more than seven eggs may be collected from her. One donor's eggs go to one couple only. The couple must arrange 12 months of insurance for the donor. Donation cannot be bought or sold.

Legal reference: ART Act 2021 s.27(1) bank only

Legal reference: s.27(2) donor age 23 to 35

Legal reference: s.27(3) one couple

Legal reference: s.27(4) once in life, max 7 oocytes

Legal reference: s.22(1)(b) insurance 12 months

Legal reference: s.29 no sale

Under the Act, treatment is for a woman above 21 and below 50, and a man above 21 and below 55, with written consent from everyone involved.

The donor's identity is kept confidential: you will not learn who she is, and she will not learn who you are. She gives up all parental rights. The child is, in law, the biological child of the couple, with the same rights as any other child. Eligibility for single women depends on the Act and its rules, so we explain yours in writing [CONFIRM].

Legal reference: s.21(g) ages

Legal reference: s.22 written consent

Legal reference: s.21(e) confidentiality

Legal reference: s.31 child's status, donor relinquishes rights

Your part is preparing your womb lining; the donor's part is the stimulation and egg collection.

Your lining is built with oestrogen tablets or patches and checked by scan. Progesterone is added, and a blastocyst is transferred on the 6th day of progesterone. Most embryos are frozen first, so your transfer can be timed to your body, not the donor's. Progesterone continues into early pregnancy.

The hardest part of donor egg IVF is not the procedure; it is the decision, and later, what to tell your child.

Most people need time to grieve the genetic link before they can choose. That grief is normal and it does not mean the decision is wrong. Counselling is offered to both of you, separately if you want. Research on donor-conceived families favours telling a child early, in simple words. In India the donor stays anonymous, so you can tell your child how they were conceived, but not who the donor was.

Donor egg pregnancies carry a higher risk of high blood pressure and pre-eclampsia, so they need closer checks.

This is a reason to plan, not a reason to avoid treatment. Tell your obstetrician the pregnancy is from donor eggs, and expect regular blood pressure checks. Pregnancy after 45 also carries more risk of diabetes in pregnancy and caesarean birth, so a medical review comes before treatment. Jananam is fertility only; we hand over your pregnancy care to an obstetrician [CONFIRM: referral practice and week].