How to use Ovobank
Steps to Become an Ovobank:
1Contact Ovobank
Register as a collaborating centre by reaching out to Ovobank via telephone, email, or through our Ovotracker system.
2Sign the Collaboration Contract
Once the contract is signed, you will receive a username and password for our Ovotracker system. This system allows you to:
- Submit recipient couple requests by providing their physical and immunological characteristics.
- Receive donor proposals from our Donor Coordination Department, ensuring the best compatibility for the couple or patient.
3Receive Vitrified Eggs
For vitrified eggs, your order will be processed and delivered.
4Access Donor Reports
Through Ovotracker (using your personalized credentials), you can download detailed donor reports. These reports include:
- Results of analytical, gynaecological, psychological, and genetic studies.
- Compliance information as per Law 14/2006, Royal Decree 1301/2006, and the signed collaboration agreement.
Request Eggs Directly from Ovobank as a Patient
Ovobank enables you to request eggs directly, without intermediaries. We will send them to the collaborating centre of your choice, where your treatment will be performed.
How It Works:
1Submit Your Egg Request
- Go to the EGG REQUEST section and select the patient option.
- Complete 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.
2Order Processing
- Once the form is submitted and payment is made, your order will be prepared.
- Your vitrified eggs will be delivered to your fertility centre.
3Choose a Fertility Centre (Optional)
- If you don’t have a fertility centre, you can select one of our collaborating centres near you.
- Alternatively, you may choose to undergo treatment at our OVOCLINIC reference clinic.
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. The collaborating center will receive the eggs in 24/48 hours, in the case of vitrified eggs.
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 higher than 92%*. 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.
Can I work with Ovobank if we are a clinic located outside Spain?
Of course, Spanish law allows the exportation of cells making sure that certain requirements are met. Contact us and we will let you know the steps.
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 over 300 worldwide collaborating centers), 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 / thawed eggs is close to 100%, so you will have at least one viable embryo available for transfer on day 5, unless the reason there are no embryos available is due to a male factor and beyond our control.
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, arriving at the destination centre within 48 hours, 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?
Once we know about your physical characteristics, race / ethnicity and blood group and we will propose a donor with similar characteristics to you.
Can we know or see pictures of the donor?
No, the Law 14/2006 of 26 May on Assisted Human Reproduction Techniques establishes the anonymity of gamete donation.
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.
