21 Jan Egg Donation in Greece: The Complete 2026 Guide
For many women and couples, egg donation offers a realistic path to pregnancy when using their own eggs is no longer possible or advisable. Greece has become one of Europe’s leading destinations for egg donation treatment, combining advanced medical expertise, a supportive legal framework, and significantly lower costs than the UK or other Western European countries.
This guide explains everything international patients need to know about egg donation in Greece in 2026—from who benefits most to what the treatment involves, how donors are selected, expected success rates, realistic costs, and how many trips you’ll need.
Who Egg Donation Helps
Egg donation may be recommended when a woman’s own eggs are unlikely to result in a successful pregnancy. This includes patients facing diminished ovarian reserve (often indicated by low AMH levels or antral follicle count), premature ovarian insufficiency, advanced maternal age (typically over 42–43), repeated IVF failures with own eggs, genetic conditions that could be passed to offspring, or previous cancer treatments that affected egg quality.
Single women and same-sex female couples can also access egg donation in Greece, provided they meet the legal requirements (including a notarial deed for single women). Treatment is available to women up to age 54, though patients over 50 typically require additional medical clearance to confirm they can safely carry a pregnancy.
If you’ve been told your chances with your own eggs are very low, egg donation removes the egg quality variable from the equation—making success rates largely dependent on uterine health and embryo implantation rather than your own ovarian function.
The Egg Donation Process: Step by Step
Understanding the treatment timeline helps you plan travel, manage expectations, and prepare emotionally. Here’s what happens at each stage.
Initial Free Consultation and Assessment
Your journey begins with a consultation, which can be conducted remotely via video call usually with Dr. Harry Karpouzis. During this appointment, your fertility specialist reviews your medical history, previous test results, and any prior treatments. You’ll discuss your situation openly and determine whether egg donation is the right path forward.
If proceeding, you’ll need baseline tests including hormonal assessments, an ultrasound to evaluate your uterine lining and cavity, and infectious disease screening (HIV, Hepatitis B and C, syphilis). These tests can usually be completed at home before travelling.
Donor Selection and Matching
Once you’re medically cleared, the clinic begins matching you with a suitable donor. In Greece, donors are typically aged 18–35 (though our clinic prefers donors in their early to mid-20s for optimal egg quality). All donors undergo comprehensive screening including physical examination, genetic testing (karyotype analysis), screening for infectious diseases, and assessment of their medical, family & psychological history.
Under Greek law, you’ll receive information about the donor’s physical characteristics (height, weight, hair colour, eye colour, skin tone), blood type, educational background, and ethnic origin. You also share with us your picture, and we send back the closest matches for your approval.
Treatment Synchronisation
For fresh egg donation cycles, your menstrual cycle is synchronised with the donor’s using hormonal medications. You’ll take oestrogen (usually in tablet or patch form) to prepare your uterine lining to receive the embryo, while the donor undergoes ovarian stimulation to produce multiple eggs. [we do not sell any medication but can direct you to where to buy, and what exactly including the dosage and timing].
Alternatively, if you are nearing 54 and the donor can’t be found we offer frozen egg bank programmes where previously retrieved and vitrified donor eggs are allocated to you. This approach often reduces waiting times and simplifies scheduling.
Egg Retrieval and Fertilisation
The donor undergoes egg retrieval under light sedation—a procedure lasting approximately 15–20 minutes. The retrieved eggs are then fertilised with sperm (from your partner or a donor) using either conventional IVF or ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection), depending on sperm quality.
The resulting embryos are cultured in the laboratory, typically to Day 5 (blastocyst stage), when they have the best chance of implantation. and in the case of fresh eggs Pelargos IVF guarantees 8 donated eggs and 2 5th day blastocysts given that the sperm meets the quality criteria.
Embryo Transfer
Embryo transfer is a straightforward procedure that doesn’t require anaesthesia. A single high-quality embryo is placed into your uterus using a thin catheter guided by ultrasound. In Greece, a maximum of two embryos may be transferred in egg donation cycles, though single embryo transfer is increasingly recommended to reduce the risk of multiple pregnancy.
Any remaining good-quality embryos can be frozen (vitrified) for future use.
The Two-Week Wait and Pregnancy Test
After transfer, you’ll continue progesterone supplementation to support early pregnancy. A blood pregnancy test (beta-hCG) is performed approximately 10–14 days after transfer. If positive, an early pregnancy scan follows a few weeks later to confirm a viable pregnancy.
Donor Matching and Selection: What You Can Choose
One of the most common questions from prospective patients concerns what control they have over donor selection.
Information Available to Recipients
Greek clinics provide detailed non-identifying information including physical characteristics (height, weight, build, hair colour and texture, eye colour, skin tone), blood group and Rh factor, ethnic background, educational level, and sometimes information about hobbies, personality traits, or occupation.
We provide written profiles or summaries to help recipients feel connected to their donor’s background without compromising anonymity.
Anonymity Options Under Greek Law
As of 2025–2026, Greek legislation offers three donor anonymity arrangements.
Anonymous donation (most common): The donor’s identity remains confidential permanently. Neither the recipient nor any resulting child can discover the donor’s identity.
Open ID donation (started recently): The donor agrees to allow their identity to be revealed to the child when they reach 18 years of age, should the child request this information.
Known donation: Under specific circumstances, family members may donate to each other (for example, sister to sister or cousin to cousin), though restrictions apply and not all clinics offer this option.
Most donors in Greece choose complete anonymity, so open ID donors may involve longer waiting times.
Realistic Expectations
While Pelargos works diligently to match donor characteristics to your preferences, finding a donor who matches every criterion perfectly may not always be possible—or may extend waiting times. Prioritising the characteristics most important to you helps the team find a suitable match more efficiently.
Success Factors: What Determines Your Chances
Egg donation offers significantly higher success rates than IVF with own eggs for women over 40, precisely because donor eggs come from young, healthy women with excellent ovarian reserve.
Success Rates for Egg Donation
Clinical pregnancy rates per embryo transfer typically range from 60–71% when using fresh donor eggs from young donors. Cumulative success rates—considering multiple transfers from a single donation cycle—can exceed 80% in optimal conditions.
These rates are considerably higher than IVF using own eggs in women over 40, where success rates often fall to 15–25% or lower.
Factors That Influence Your Individual Outcome
Uterine health: A healthy endometrium that responds well to hormonal preparation is crucial for implantation. Conditions like fibroids, polyps, or adenomyosis may need treatment before transfer.
Embryo quality: While donor eggs remove the egg quality variable, sperm quality still matters. Partner sperm with poor morphology or motility may benefit from ICSI or, in some cases, donor sperm.
Lifestyle factors: Smoking, excessive alcohol, and obesity can negatively affect implantation rates even with donor eggs.
Number of embryos available: Having surplus embryos to freeze means additional transfer attempts without repeating the full donation process.
PGT-A (Preimplantation Genetic Testing)
Some patients ask whether genetic testing of embryos (PGT-A) is beneficial with donor eggs. Because donors are young with chromosomally normal eggs, PGT-A is less commonly recommended than in own-egg cycles for older women. However, it may be considered in specific circumstances—we can advise whether it’s appropriate for your situation and also for law adherence since there is a specific criteria to meet the Greek law requirements.
Costs: What to Expect
One significant advantage of egg donation with Pelargos in Greece is cost. Treatment is substantially less expensive than in the UK, the US, or many Western European countries—without compromising on quality.
Typical Price Ranges (2026)
Egg donation packages in Greece with Pelargos IVF generally current range from €5,500 to €8,000, depending on what’s included. Our comprehensive packages covers donor recruitment, screening, and compensation; the donor’s medication and monitoring; egg retrieval; ICSI fertilisation; embryo culture to blastocyst stage; and embryo transfer – First medical consultation (qualification), All visits including ultrasounds if necessary, Embryologist consultation, All egg donor costs (compensation, medications and egg retrieval), Sperm preparation, ICSI, Blastocyst culture (embryo development till day 5th), ET – fresh embryo transfer, MACS, IMSI, PICSI, AH – assisted hatching, Embryo Glue, Embryo Monitoring (Embryoscope, Time Lapse, Geri), Vitrification of remaining embryos and storage for 1 year, Embryo biopsy for PGT-A (up to 4 embryos).
Pelargos offers guarantee packages that include (minimum) of oocytes from the donor (8), No of embryos on day 3rd (4), No of embryos on day 5th (blastocyst) (2).
What May Not Be Included
Additional costs include recipient medications (typically €200–600), embryo freezing and annual storage fees (approximately €300–500), PGT-A if requested (around €350 per embryo), and frozen embryo transfer cycles (€1,000–2,000).
Travel, accommodation, and local expenses are separate from treatment costs.
Comparing Quotes Fairly
When evaluating clinic prices, ensure you’re comparing like-for-like. Ask specifically whether the quote includes all items listed above, what payment timeline is expected, and whether there are any circumstances in which additional fees might apply.
At Pelargos IVF you give a deposit of €500 only when you book the treatment and the rest of the fees during the procedure.
How Many Trips to Athens
International patients understandably want to minimise travel. The good news is that egg donation often requires fewer clinic visits than traditional IVF with your own eggs, since you don’t undergo ovarian stimulation or egg retrieval yourself and since we have our internal international patients app, in which you receive your prescriptions and submit your tests remotely and seamlessly.
Typical Travel Requirements
Minimal travel approach (one trip): Some patients complete all preparation at home—consultations via video, tests at local labs (we can recommend some in your country but if you do them in Athens they are included in the cost of treatment), monitoring by their GP or a local fertility clinic—and travel to Athens only for the embryo transfer. This trip typically requires 3–5 days, allowing time for a final scan, the transfer itself, and initial recovery.
Standard approach (one to two trips): An initial consultation trip (2–3 days) allows you to meet the team, have a hysteroscopy if needed, and discuss the process in person. The second trip (5–7 days) is for the embryo transfer. This approach suits patients who prefer face-to-face consultations before committing.
Fresh egg donation with synchronisation: If your cycle is synchronised with the donor’s for a fresh transfer, you may need slightly more flexibility around travel dates, as the exact transfer day depends on embryo development.
Reducing Travel Further
Using frozen donor eggs rather than a fresh synchronised cycle can make scheduling more predictable. Completing all screening tests at home reduces the need for early trips. Video consultations and the use of our patient app for initial discussions and follow-up also minimise in-person visits.
Greek Law and Patient Protections
Greece has one of Europe’s most comprehensive and patient-friendly legal frameworks for assisted reproduction, which is one reason it has become a leading destination for fertility treatment.
Key Legal Points for Egg Donation
Treatment is available to heterosexual couples (married or unmarried), single women, and same-sex female couples. The maximum recipient age is 54, with additional screening required for women over 50. Donor anonymity is protected by law, with open ID and known donation options available under specific conditions. All clinics must be licensed by the National Authority for Assisted Reproduction, which conducts regular inspections. Donors are limited to a maximum of 10 offspring to protect genetic diversity.
Parental Rights
For married couples, the husband is automatically recognised as the legal father of any child born through egg donation. For unmarried couples and single women, specific legal processes ensure parental rights are established—we can guide you through the requirements.
These legal protections give international patients confidence that their treatment is conducted within a clear, well-regulated framework.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who qualifies for egg donation in Greece?
Women up to age 54 can receive egg donation treatment, including heterosexual couples (married or unmarried), single women (who must sign a notarial deed), and same-sex female couples. Women over 50 require additional medical clearance. You’ll need to pass infectious disease screening before treatment can begin.
How long does the egg donation process take?
From initial consultation to embryo transfer, the process typically takes 2–4 months. This includes time for your assessments, donor matching, and cycle scheduling. Some clinics with frozen egg banks can proceed more quickly if a suitable donor is immediately available.
Can embryos be genetically tested (PGT-A)?
Yes, PGT-A is available in Greece and can be performed on embryos created through egg donation. However, because donor eggs come from young women with typically normal chromosomes, PGT-A is less often recommended than in own-egg cycles. Your specialist will advise whether it’s appropriate for your situation.
How many visits to Athens are required?
Most patients complete egg donation with just one trip to Athens (for the embryo transfer), lasting 3–5 days. Some prefer an initial in-person consultation, making it two trips total. Consultations, tests, and preparation can largely be completed remotely or at home.
What information will I receive about my donor?
You’ll receive detailed physical characteristics (height, weight, colouring), blood type, ethnic background, educational level, and medical/genetic screening results. Photographs are not provided due to anonymity laws, but clinics work to match donors closely to recipient characteristics.
What are the success rates for egg donation?
Pregnancy rates per embryo transfer typically range from 60–71% with fresh donor eggs, with cumulative rates exceeding 80% when considering multiple transfer attempts from one cycle. Individual outcomes depend on factors including uterine health and embryo quality.
Taking the Next Step
Deciding to pursue egg donation is significant—emotionally, financially, and practically. Understanding the process, costs, and realistic expectations helps you move forward with confidence.
If you’re considering egg donation in Greece, a consultation is the best first step. You can discuss your medical history, ask questions, and learn whether egg donation is the right path for you—all before making any commitments.
Pelargos IVF offers remote consultations for international patients, transparent pricing with no hidden fees, and personalised support throughout your journey.
Book a consultation to discuss your options with our team.
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