Egg donation (oocyte donation)

When it is used

The UK fertility regulator, the HFEA, says a clinic is likely to recommend donor conception if:

• “you're not producing eggs or sperm of your own”
• “your own sperm or eggs are unlikely to result in a pregnancy”
• “you have a high risk of passing on an inherited disease”

It adds: “Using donated sperm, eggs or embryos is a major decision and you should take your time to think about whether it's right for you.” Whether it is appropriate in a particular case is a clinical decision for the treating doctor. This directory does not make that judgement.

The donor eggs are fertilised in IVF or ICSI, and the embryo is transferred to the recipient.

What India's ART Act says

The law in India differs from the UK, so this section quotes the Act. The Act defines a “"gamete donor" means a person who provides sperm or oocyte with the objective of enabling an infertile couple or woman to have a child”

Section 27(1): “The screening of gamete donors, the collection, screening and storage of semen; and provision of oocyte donor, shall be done only by a bank registered as an independent entity under the provisions of this Act.”

Section 27(2)(b) requires banks to “obtain oocytes from females between twenty-three years of age and thirty-five years of age”. Section 27(3): “A bank shall not supply the sperm or oocyte of a single donor to more than one commissioning couple.” Section 27(4): “An oocyte donor shall donate oocytes only once in her life and not more than seven oocyte shall be retrieved from the oocyte donor.”

Section 22(1)(b) requires “an insurance coverage of such amount as may be prescribed for a period of twelve months in favour of the oocyte donor by the commissioning couple or woman”, and section 27(6) requires the bank to take a written undertaking from each donor “about the confidentiality of such information.”

Ask a clinic which registered ART bank it works with. This directory does not list banks separately.

Questions

Can a clinic find its own egg donor?

Section 27(1) of the ART Act says provision of an oocyte donor “shall be done only by a bank registered as an independent entity under the provisions of this Act.”

How old must an egg donor be?

Section 27(2)(b) says between “twenty-three years of age and thirty-five years of age”.

Can one donor's eggs go to several couples?

No. Section 27(3) says a bank “shall not supply the sperm or oocyte of a single donor to more than one commissioning couple.”

Sources

• HFEA, Using donated eggs, sperm or embryos in treatment, read 25 September 2026.
• The Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021 (No. 42 of 2021), read 25 September 2026.
• The Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Rules, 2022, G.S.R. 419(E), 7 June 2022, para 10.1 (not changed by the Amendment Rules, 2026, G.S.R. 491(E)), read 25 September 2026.
• Clinic data: each clinic's own website, as read by this directory; registry level from the National ART & Surrogacy Registry extract.