Egg Donation in Armenia: The Process and Questions to Ask

Egg donation may be considered in a range of fertility situations, following an individual medical review. Before choosing a program, understand donor screening, the information available to you, the treatment process and what the quoted number of eggs or embryos means.

Who needs egg donation?

• women with low ovarian reserve or premature ovarian insufficiency,
• some women in their 40s, after a doctor has assessed ovarian reserve and the realistic chances with their own eggs,
• patients with repeated IVF failure due to poor egg quality,
• women who carry a genetic condition they do not want to pass on,
• single men and some couples who need both a donor and a surrogate.

What does Armenian law say about egg donors?

Egg donation is regulated by Armenian reproductive law. Donors are women aged 18 to 35 who are healthy and have passed medical screening. Donation is formalized through a written agreement, and donors may receive compensation for their time and effort. The donor’s identity is confidential: recipients receive detailed, non-identifying information, while donors do not receive information about the recipients.

How donors are screened

• general health check and gynecological examination,
• ultrasound and hormone tests to assess ovarian reserve (for example AMH),
• infectious disease testing (HIV, hepatitis B and C, syphilis and others),
• blood group and karyotype or genetic carrier screening, depending on the program,
• psychological assessment and a personal and family medical history.

How to choose an egg donor

When you request donor profiles, you can specify your preferences, for example:

• ethnicity and appearance (height, hair and eye color),
• blood group,
• education,
• age and previous donation results, if available.

Your coordinator sends matching profiles, usually with photos, and helps you compare them. Many intended parents choose a donor whose features resemble the intended mother, but the decision is entirely yours.

The egg donation process step by step

1. Donor selection and confirmation of her availability.
2. Synchronisation: the donor’s cycle is timed with the recipient’s (or the surrogate’s) preparation, or eggs are frozen for later use.
3. Stimulation: the donor takes hormone injections for about 10 to 12 days, with regular ultrasound monitoring.
4. Egg retrieval: a short procedure under light anesthesia.
5. Fertilisation: the eggs are fertilized by IVF or ICSI with the intended father’s or donor sperm.
6. Embryo culture: embryos develop in the laboratory for five to six days; optional genetic testing (PGT) can be added.
7. Embryo transfer to the intended mother or to a gestational surrogate, and freezing of extra embryos.

Fresh or frozen donor eggs?

With fresh donor eggs, the donor’s cycle is synchronised with yours and the eggs are fertilised right after retrieval. With frozen eggs from an egg bank, there is no need for synchronization, which can shorten waiting times, but not every egg survives thawing. In both cases the number of eggs, how many are mature and fertilize, and how many embryos develop vary from cycle to cycle, and a donor’s age does not guarantee a result. Ask what your contract includes; your doctor will recommend the best option for your case.

Egg donation combined with surrogacy

For single men and for women who cannot carry a pregnancy, egg donation is combined with gestational surrogacy. The embryo is created with donor eggs and the intended father’s sperm and transferred to the surrogate. Learn more on our surrogacy page.

Would you like to become a donor?

If you are a healthy woman aged 18 to 35 and would like to help another family, you can apply to become an egg donor. All information is treated confidentially.

Next steps

To get a personal treatment plan and donor profiles, book a consultation or read more about IVF and egg donation with Aurum.