Nowadays, when we use the term “frozen donor eggs” what we are really talking about are vitrified egg cells. The vitrification process can be thought of as a kind of flash freezing, using cryoprotectants and liquid nitrogen to very quickly “freeze” the eggs cells retrieved from the donor, preventing ice crystals from forming. They can then be preserved in liquid nitrogen at -196°C indefinitely. This innovative technique, when carried out by our OvobankID specialists, and after correct thawing, results in nearly 100% of the oocytes (egg cells) surviving.
The number of assisted reproduction treatments with donated eggs has grown rapidly over the last few years. Couples, or women who have been trying to get pregnant naturally for some time but without any success, can find themselves in the situation of the years creeping up on them, being over 40 years old and experiencing fertility problems.
As a result, egg donation treatments are one of the most in-demand assisted reproductive techniques. Egg donation treatment is similar to conventional IVF, but with the advantage that the patient doesn’t have to go through the process of ovarian stimulation to grow and mature the egg cells. Indeed, the eggs used in this treatment come from a donor and are fertilized with the partner’s sperm, or donor sperm if needed.
Ovobank, Europe’s first egg bank, was created to provide a solution to assisted reproduction clinics all over the world in the search for donors, and above all, to help patients in the search for their ideal donor.
At Ovobank we have a team of professionals with expertise in egg cell cryopreservation, a process by which we have achieved high success rates in egg donation treatments. The Ovobank freezing process is always carried out by qualified specialists in cryobiology and our protocols and media comply with all European regulations. Furthermore, Ovobank donated eggs are processed under the best possible conditions to preserve all their potential, to offer you an excellent quality service with the maximum guarantee of success.
Frozen or fresh eggs – which are better?
A common question amongst patients looking for egg donation treatments is “are fresh or frozen donor eggs better?”. Although in the past, egg donor treatments generally used fresh eggs, at OvobankID we would like to show you all the advantages of using frozen donor eggs in your treatment:
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An extensive database of donors and phenotypes: by choosing to use frozen eggs, the patient has access to a large pool of donors. In contrast, when using fresh eggs, the choice is limited to the number of egg donors available at that moment and so there is a much-reduced variety of donors, and the search is more complicated.
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No waiting lists: OvobankID has a wide variety of donor eggs readily available, so you can find the most suitable donor without any waiting lists.
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Immediate treatment: patients can start their treatment without delay and have treatment within their own menstrual cycle. If using fresh eggs, the patient needs to synchronize her menstrual cycle with that of the donor, which can lead to added risks, such as the cancellation of the donor stimulation cycle, or the donor backing out at the last moment, leading to delays in the treatment.
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Lower costs: When using a cohort of frozen eggs the price is already known and set. You don´t have to worry about the mounting costs of testing, analyses, medications, and medical procedures of the donor. However, in a fresh donor cycle, the donor must be submitted to all the tests needed prior to the donation process, which can result in considerable sums being added to the price of the egg donation treatment.
- Guaranteed results: At Ovobank we can assure you that all our egg donors are young, healthy women who undergo exhaustive medical, genetic, and psychological studies to ensure that the eggs we use are of the quality needed to give excellent success rates.
Take a selfie to find the donor who looks the most like the mum-to-be
In addition to all the previous advantages, we also have Ovomatch: a facial and biometric recognition app developed by Ovobank. Using Ovomatch you can measure various biometric points of the face and then find, amongst the thousands of available donors, the match that best fits in physical resemblance. The patient only needs to take a selfie on a mobile phone and, using our app, the algorithms will do the work for you.
