Donor egg IVF in Turkey

Donor egg IVF cannot be carried out in Turkey. Turkish law allows assisted reproduction only with the eggs and sperm of the couple being treated, and egg donation, sperm donation and surrogacy are all prohibited. A clinic in Turkey cannot lawfully provide donor egg IVF, and an offer to arrange it there is a reason to stop rather than to book.

That is the honest answer to the question this page is asked most, and it is worth knowing before you compare prices. What Turkey does offer is IVF using your own eggs, including the laboratory techniques that go with it. Donor egg treatment itself is done in countries where it is legal and regulated, and the rest of this page covers where, how it works, and the questions that actually decide the outcome.

Egg donation is legal and regulated in a number of European countries, and the rules differ in ways that matter more than price. The main differences are whether donation is anonymous or identifiable, whether a donor conceived person has a right to learn the donor's identity on reaching adulthood, the upper age limits for treatment, how donors are recruited and compensated, and how long the wait is for a matched donor.

Those differences are not administrative detail. Anonymity rules decide what your child will be able to find out about their own origins, and several countries have moved from anonymous to identifiable donation in the last few years. Choose the country on that question first and on price second.

• Cyprus. A long established destination for donor treatment, close to Turkey and with short waiting times, which is why much of the traffic that searches for donation in Turkey ends up there.
• Spain. A large and long running donor programme with anonymous donation, which means a donor conceived child there cannot later learn the donor's identity.
• Romania. Donor treatment is available through licensed centres and waiting times are usually short.
• Poland. Donor treatment is regulated and provided through licensed centres, with rules on who may be treated.

Country pages with clinics and current prices: donor egg IVF in Cyprus, donor egg IVF in Spain, donor egg IVF in Romania, donor egg IVF in Poland. Rules change, so confirm the current position with the clinic and, where it matters to you, with a lawyer at home.

• It is not a certainty. Donor egg cycles do not always end in a pregnancy, and no clinic can tell you in advance that yours will. Be careful with any figure quoted at you without a clear definition of what it counts.
• Multiple pregnancy is the avoidable risk. It comes from transferring more than one embryo. Ask what the clinic's default is and say what you want.
• Pregnancy after donor eggs carries added risks. Raised blood pressure in pregnancy is reported more often after donor egg treatment, so antenatal care at home should know how you conceived.
• The emotional side is real. Using another person's eggs raises questions about connection, disclosure and what you will tell your child. Counselling is standard practice in regulated programmes and is worth taking up.
• Surplus embryos need a decision. Storage, donation or discard, and the rules differ by country. Decide before treatment, not during a phone call afterwards.
• Cross border care fragments follow up. The clinic is in one country and your midwife and doctor are in another. Ask what they send home and to whom.

• The country and its rules. Donor recruitment, screening and compensation differ, and so does what the headline figure includes.
• Fresh cycle or frozen eggs. A shared or frozen egg cycle is priced differently from an exclusive fresh donor cycle.
• Whether medication is included. Your own preparation medication is often billed separately and is not a small item.
• Genetic testing and freezing. Testing embryos, freezing what is left, and the annual storage fee afterwards.
• How many attempts the quote covers. One transfer, or a package with frozen embryo transfers included. These are very different products at similar looking prices.

Prices and clinics for donor treatment are on the country pages: Cyprus, Spain, Romania and Poland. For instalments, see payment plans. For treatment with your own eggs in Turkey, see IVF in Turkey.

• Turkish Ministry of Health, regulation on assisted reproductive treatment practices and centres.
• European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology, comparative reports on legislation on medically assisted reproduction in Europe.
• Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, patient information on donor conception and treatment abroad.
• NHS, information on IVF and fertility treatment.
• Turkish Ministry of Health, register of facilities authorised for health tourism.