Screening of egg donors

At Cryos we have an extensive screening procedure to ensure that all our egg donors are healthy, young women with high-quality eggs. In fact, only about 4% of the women applying are approved for egg donation.

Here we take you through the different steps of our screening process to help you understand how many tests and assessments all candidates must pass before they are approved and eventually accessible in our Donor Search. You can also learn how we release donor eggs for clinical use in different countries due to national legislations regarding egg donation, and what it means if a donor is put in quarantine or is permanently blocked.

Egg donor screening and testing

If you use a Cryos egg donor in fertility treatment of your patients, you can always be sure that the donor has undergone thorough physical examination, genetic screening, and psychological evaluation prior to becoming a donor. Egg donor candidates are tested in accordance with the EU and FDA guidelines, and we continuously look for ways to improve our screening process to ensure the best possible donor eggs for you and your patients.

Assessing medical and family history

When we receive an application from a potential donor, we will do an initial assessment of whether she qualifies. If so, we ask her to complete a comprehensive medical questionnaire including questions about the medical and genetic history of the donor candidate and her family members.

If the questionnaire looks fine, we will invite her in for an in-depth interview where we will assess any signs of risk behavior, symptoms of disease, and her family medical history. Candidates with a family history of serious hereditary mental and/or physical diseases are rejected at this point.

Deciding on donor type and profile

In relation to the interview, we will thoroughly explain what it means to be an egg donor. If the candidate is interested in moving forward, we ask her to decide which type of donor she would like to be. 

Initial lab testing

Our in-house nurses do an extensive screening procedure to ensure that the donor candidate is in good health and meets body mass criteria. We will also do a blood draw to check her AMH levels and collect a urine sample to check for chlamydia and gonorrhea.

Genetic carrier testing

We will then perform a genetic carrier test for a number of recessive diseases, which means that the donor candidates at the time being are tested for the most common genetic variants causing:

• Cystic fibrosis
• Hemoglobinopathies (including Alfa thalassemia, Beta thalassemia, Sickle cell)
• Spinal muscular atrophy
• Fragile X
• Tay Sachs
• Non-syndromatic deafness
• Dystrophinopathies
• Severe hemolytic anemia

These are the most frequent serious hereditary diseases worldwide.

Finally, donor candidates are screened for normal karyotype (chromosome profile).

Psychological assessment

A confidential consultation with our mental health professional is required for all egg donors as it is important that they feel comfortable with their decision to become an egg donor and understand what it means. The psychological assessment is done at a private practice by an independent counsellor.

Physical exam

After the psychological assessment, the donor will be invited in for a physical examination with our gynecologist where a pelvic ultrasound scan and a blood draw to check her hormonal levels are performed.

Final approval and donor test results

Only if all tests and assessments during the screening process are favorable will the donor candidate be approved as an egg donor at Cryos. On average, only 4% of all egg donor candidates applying at Cryos become donors. In other words, we make a big effort to ensure that you and your patients can feel safe and comfortable about choosing a Cryos egg donor.

In each donor profile available on our website, you will find a Summary of Records (SOR) containing test results, donor characteristics and Standard release information. The SOR will be attached to the order confirmation and a copy is also included in your shipment. The Summary of Records is subject to change over time, due to continuous testing of the donors.

If the partner or sperm donor is a known carrier of a hereditary disease

If the man delivering the sperm is a known carrier of any hereditary disease, please contact our Clinic Account Team who can help find a suitable egg donor.

Quarantine or Permanent block of egg donors

In every pregnancy, there is a small risk of having a child with a congenital disease, and in some cases, this might turn out to be inherited. At Cryos our donors undergo thorough screening before being accepted as a donor in order to minimize the risk of the donor passing any serious conditions on to the child.

Despite our thorough selection and screening procedure, however, the risk of having a child with a medical condition cannot be eliminated. If a condition is detected in a child, and there is reason to believe that the disease might be the result of the use of donor eggs, Cryos should be informed immediately, so that we can take the necessary action. Please reach out to our Clinic Account Team, who can help you or your patient report a condition. 

How we handle reported diseases (conditions)

If Cryos receives a Report of Condition, our Genetics team will handle it immediately and start an investigation. The purpose of the investigation is to assess if the disease could or could not be related to the egg donor.

• In some cases, our Genetics team will conclude that the report can be rejected, and that no further actions are necessary. This is the case when the genetics team assesses that the disease is not related to the donor or that the risk of recurrence in half siblings is not significantly elevated.
• In other cases, the Report of Condition requires further investigation. The donor’s eggs will then be put in quarantine, as a temporary precaution, while further investigation is carried out.
  If donor straws are put in quarantine, Cryos will notify:
  • Clinics that have received eggs from this specific donor for treatment.
  • Private clients with an open reservation of donor eggs from this donor.

Eventually, the conclusion will either be that the report of condition can be rejected, or that the donor must be permanently blocked. An egg donor will be permanently blocked if our Genetics team assesses that the condition might be related to the donor. If a donor is permanently blocked, her eggs can only be purchased for sibling treatment – which means, only by persons who have already conceived a child with eggs from this donor.

If the donor gets permanently blocked, Cryos will notify all clients (private or professional) who have placed an order for eggs from this donor directly with Cryos. If private clients have placed an order with delivery to your clinic, Cryos will also send the notification to you.