Step-by-step guide
How to use Ovobank
There are three ways to use Ovobank: as a collaborating centre, as an open-identity patient or as a closed-identity patient. Requesting your batch of vitrified eggs is easy and the whole process can be done online.
The option available depends on the law of the country of treatment
No waiting lists and donors of different phenotypes
Delivery to your clinic with real-time tracking
Choose your profile and see how it works
For clinics
Become an Ovobank collaborating centre
Access our donor database with comprehensive medical and genetic screening, receive personalised donor proposals and manage all your orders from Ovotracker.
No waiting lists Traceable shipments Support and training
Contact Ovobank
Register as a collaborating centre by contacting Ovobank by phone, email or through our Ovotracker system.
Sign the collaboration agreement
You will receive a username and password for Ovotracker, which allows you to:
- Submit requests for recipient couples, with their physical and immunological characteristics.
- Receive donor proposals from the Donor Coordination Department, with the best compatibility for each patient.
Receive the vitrified eggs
Your order is processed and delivered to your centre, with real-time tracking.
Access donor reports
From Ovotracker, with your credentials, download detailed reports including:
- Results of analytical, gynaecological, psychological and genetic studies.
- Compliance information under Law 14/2006, Royal Decree 1301/2006 and the signed collaboration agreement.
For patients · open identity With photos*
Choose your donor with OvobankID
In countries whose legislation allows open-identity donation, you can view our donors’ profiles, including their photographs, and choose your donor through OvobankID, our online platform.
To see the photographs, all you need is your collaborating centre code: from there you can do everything yourself, without having to see your doctor.
Profiles with photos* 100 % online Payment on the platform
*Available only in countries whose legislation allows open-identity donation. Your centre code tells us the country and, therefore, which donor information you can see.
Sign up for OvobankID
Create your account with your personal details and indicate your country of residence and that of your clinic.
Enter your centre code To see photos
- It is the only information you need from your clinic.
- If the law of its country allows it, you will access the full donor profiles, with their photographs.
- You can create your profile without a code and add it later. In the meantime you will see the donors’ details, but without photographs.
Search for and choose your donor
Browse profiles by physical characteristics and choose the donor you prefer yourself, whenever you want and from any device.
Place your order and pay
Confirm your order and pay directly on the platform. We will prepare your batch and send it to your fertility centre, with real-time tracking via Ovotracker.
For patients · closed identity
Request eggs directly from Ovobank
In countries where donation is anonymous, our Donor Coordination Department selects the donor most compatible with you. Ovobank lets you request eggs directly, without intermediaries, and we send them to the collaborating centre of your choice.
Guaranteed anonymity Phenotypic and immunological compatibility
Send your egg request
- Go to the Gamete request section and select the patient option.
- Fill in the form with your physical and immunological characteristics, as well as those of your partner.
- Our Donor Coordination Department will review your information and select the most compatible donor for you.
Order processing
- Once the form has been sent and payment made, we will prepare your order.
- Your vitrified eggs will be delivered to your fertility centre.
Choose a fertility centre Optional
- If you do not have a fertility centre, you can select one of our nearby collaborating centres.
- Alternatively, you can undergo treatment at our reference clinic, OVOCLINIC.
Frequently asked questions
How does Ovobank work?
Both patients and collaborating centers have to send us a form with the physical characteristics and blood group of the recipient/s. The coordination department will assign the donor that best resembles the receiving couple, immunologically and phenotypically and will send you a proposal. In the case of vitrified eggs, shipping to the collaborating center is arranged right away.
How far in advance should we make the request?
As soon as possible to coordinate shipping or to make shipping arrangements.
Is it possible that you don´t have the ideal donor for the recipient couple?
No, Ovobank has worked hard to get a very large portfolio of donors of all ethnicities and physical characteristics to meet the needs of patients of the collaborating clinics. Ovobank works to help your patients so they don’t have to wait for their egg donation treatment even in the case of rare phenotypes in our territory. Over 150 different nationalities live in Marbella and Madrid, so at Ovobank we have phenotypes that may be less common in other cities.
Does collaboration with Ovobank have financial benefits?
Taking into account factors such as medication costs, donor compensation, operating theatre material, time, staff, checks-ups, calls, etc., for clinics with up to 250 cycles per year (if the clinic shares donors among several recipients) or 350 cycles a year (if the clinic does not share donors among several recipients) it is more economical to use Ovobank vitrified eggs than to stimulate your own donors. In addition to the economic benefit there is the peace of mind of not having to control donors, lost medication, etc. Furthermore, the results achieved using thawed donor eggs does not differ from the results with fresh eggs, so there is a financial gain without the quality of the treatment being affected.
What are the advantages of working with Ovobank?
– Security: We ensure 6-7 mature eggs per batch. This means that the rate of cancellation of oocyte donation treatments will be less than 1%. – Speed: patients will not have to wait for their donor to be found and tested. Treatment time is substantially reduced. – Diversity: We have a wide range of donors that includes all ethnicity / features, even rare phenotypes. – Less expensive: it is cheaper than stimulating a donor for a fresh egg donation cycle. – High rate of embryo freezing: there is also a high rate of embryo freezing on day 5.
Is the vitrification method safe?
Vitrification is the most effective method to cryopreserve eggs with highest demonstrated survival rate up to date. It’s so effective that, gathering data from our collaborating centres, oocyte survival rates are close to 97%. It is a safe, simple and effective method that can be performed in all assisted reproduction clinics. No equipment is needed, so you do not have to make any investment in material. Thawing is simple and quick and thawing kits are the only requirement. If necessary, we can send one of our specialist biologists in thawing to thaw the eggs. * Rates obtained in the best Italian collaborating centers in 2016 following our thawing protocols.
Is shipping safe?
Oocyte batches are shipped in special cryo containers of absorbed liquid nitrogen for shipping of cells and tissues. The eggs are themselves classified through a system of straws and goblets that allow the transfer of batches from the shipping tank to your tank without losing the cold chain. In addition with this system batch identification is very easy without damaging temperature conditions. In turn, the cryo-containers are protected by reinforced aluminum boxes to avoid any damage during transport. Shipping is extremely quick and can be in your clinic within 24 hours if necessary.
Which donation option can I offer my patients?
Ovobank works with open-identity and closed-identity donors. The option available depends on the legislation of the country where treatment takes place; our team will tell you which applies in yours.
Who can benefit from using vitrified eggs?
The main reason is the age of the woman Women are born with a predetermined number of eggs. With each ovulation we lose eggs and the ovarian reserve diminishes until menopause is reached. It is estimated that accelerated follicular atresia begins around the age of 37, along with a decrease in the quality of the eggs. This decrease becomes more pronounced as a woman reaches her 40s with a pregnancy rate near zero using her own eggs at age 45. The use of vitrified donor eggs is also recommended for women presenting ovarian failure either iatrogenic, usually due to cancer treatment, or as a result of a pathological process leading to premature ovarian failure (POF).
Do I have to travel for Ovobank services?
You can use Ovobank´s vitrified eggs anywhere in the world. Simply request the eggs that you need on our website and we will send them to the collaborating center of your choice (if you don’t have one we can recommend one from amongst our more than 480 collaborating centres worldwide), quickly and safely.
How many eggs will I receive?
You will receive 6-7 mature eggs. Our research has shown that 6-7 mature eggs are necessary to produce sufficient embryos to transfer with good success rates. In addition to this number of mature eggs * there is a possibility that between 1 and 3 embryos may be vitrified, per batch, on day +5. * We must emphasize that we cannot assure that in a batch there will be embryos to freeze.
How do I know I am receiving good eggs?
The eggs are not graded, rather they are considered mature or immature. You will receive mature eggs to make embryos. These eggs are from healthy donors under 34 years of age so the quality is maximized. Subsequently embryo quality can be classified by your embryologist.
Will the Vitrified eggs survive?
The survival rate of vitrified eggs after warming is close to 97%. The number of viable embryos depends on many factors, such as fertilisation and the male factor, and cannot be guaranteed in advance.
How long does it take to complete treatment?
There are no waiting lists in the case of vitrified eggs. Once your fertility clinic contacts us, shipping of the eggs is arranged immediately, so the length of treatment will depend on the endometrial preparation at your fertility centre.
Who do I call if I have questions about my treatment?
You should contact the gynaecologist at your fertility centre.
How do you assign donor/recipient?
In the closed-identity option, once we know your physical characteristics and blood group, our Donor Coordination Department will propose a donor with features similar to yours. In the open-identity option, you choose the donor yourself through OvobankID.
Can we know or see pictures of the donor?
It depends on the legislation of the country where treatment takes place. In countries with open-identity donation, you can view donor profiles, with their photographs, through OvobankID by entering your collaborating centre code. In countries where donation is anonymous, such as Spain (Law 14/2006 on Assisted Human Reproduction Techniques), it is not possible to see photographs or know the donor’s identity.
How important is the blood type?
Medically, the donor’s blood type does not affect your chances of pregnancy. Patients who choose not to reveal the genetic origin of their children may want to choose a blood type that complements with either the male or female partner.
Why is egg donation treatment so expensive?
A traditional egg donation treatment is expensive for 3 main reasons: the donor receives a financial compensation for the inconveniences of treatment and egg retrieval, the donor medication must be paid and finally the process of extracting the eggs.
How is Ovobank cheaper?
It’s much cheaper because we have optimized our donor expenses. By getting several batches from each donor, expenses are divided among the recipients such that the price decreases without affecting the quality of treatment.
In the Ovobank price are medication and/or donor compensation included?
The price of a batch of eggs from Ovobank includes all the costs of the process, up to and including the oocyte retrieval.
What is the difference between open-identity and closed-identity donation?
In open-identity donation, the person born may learn the donor’s identity where the law provides for it, and patients can view a more complete donor profile, including photographs. In closed-identity donation, donation is anonymous and our team matches the most compatible donor. The option available always depends on the law of the country where treatment takes place.
What is OvobankID?
It is Ovobank’s online platform to search for and select egg donors. It is used by our collaborating centres and, in countries where legislation allows it, also by patients.
What is the centre code and what is it for?
It is your collaborating centre’s code. It tells us the country of your clinic and, therefore, which donor information its legislation allows you to see. If the law allows it, with the code you will access full donor profiles, with photographs. You can ask your clinic for it.
Can I sign up for OvobankID without the centre code?
Yes. You can create your profile and add the code later. In the meantime you will see the donors’ details, but without photographs.
Do I need to go to my clinic to choose the donor?
No. Once you have entered your centre code, you can do everything yourself on the platform: choose the donor, place the order and pay. We will send the eggs to your centre, where treatment will take place.
How do I pay for my order on OvobankID?
Payment is made directly on the OvobankID platform when you confirm your order.
More answers for clinics
Short answers to the questions clinics most often ask about becoming a collaborating centre, ordering, donors, shipping and quality: Questions from clinics.