In this guide
- The five rules that matter most to recipients
- Country-by-country rules at a glance
- Anonymous-donation countries
- Identifiable-donation countries
- Greece and the choice model
- Family limits and why they matter
- Home-country rules you cannot ignore
- Questions to confirm with any donor-egg clinic
- Frequently asked questions
Key takeaways
- Countries split into three broad camps: anonymous donation (Spain, Czech Republic), identifiable donation (UK, Portugal, France), and a choice model (Greece since 2022).
- In Spain the law says the medical team chooses the donor and the recipient cannot pick a donor personally.
- Some countries restrict who can be treated. The Czech Republic treats only opposite-sex couples, while Spain's law covers any woman over 18 regardless of marital status or orientation.
- Germany still bans egg donation, Colombia has no dedicated law and the Czech Republic has discussed reforms, so always confirm current rules with the clinic.
- Your home country's rules matter too, especially if you might ship embryos back or want your child to have access to donor information later.
Donor-egg IVF is one of the main reasons people travel for fertility treatment, and the rules around it vary more than almost any other area of reproductive law. Some countries guarantee donor anonymity. Others guarantee the opposite: a child's right to learn the donor's identity in adulthood. Some let you see donor profiles, while others forbid recipients from choosing at all. In this guide we look at the rules that matter most to recipients and check each one against the country's own legislation or regulator wherever we could. Where a rule is unclear or has recently changed, we say so.
We have published broader comparisons before, including Egg Donor Laws by Country and Donor Egg IVF Abroad: Comparing Programs Across 7 Countries. This guide takes a recipient's view and goes back to the statutes, so you can see the legal basis behind each rule.
The five rules that matter most to recipients
When people compare donor-egg destinations, they often focus on price and waiting time. The legal rules shape your experience just as much. These are the five to check first:
Anonymity
Can a donor-conceived child ever learn the donor's identity? This affects your child for life.
Donor selection
Do you choose the donor from profiles, or does the clinic match one to you?
Compensation
Is the donor paid a fee, or only reimbursed? This often affects donor supply and waiting times.
Family limits
How many children or families can one donor help? Fewer means fewer genetic half-siblings.
Who can be treated
Some countries restrict treatment by relationship status, sexual orientation or age.
Country-by-country rules at a glance
This table summarises the main rules we verified. Read the notes below it, because several details carry conditions that a table cannot show.
| Country | Anonymity | Who picks the donor | Who can be treated | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | Anonymous by law | Medical team, matched for physical and immune similarity | Any woman over 18, regardless of marital status or orientation | Stable law (Law 14/2006) |
| Greece | Donor's choice: anonymous, named, or disclosed to the child at adulthood | Recipient chooses between anonymous and named donation | Confirm with clinic; recipient age limit raised in 2022 | Changed in 2022 (Law 4958/2022) |
| Czech Republic | Anonymous | Clinic | Opposite-sex couples only; transfer before the woman's 49th birthday | Reforms discussed; confirm |
| Portugal | General anonymity struck down in 2018 | Clinic | Confirm with clinic | Transition rules apply; confirm |
| United Kingdom | Identifiable at 18 (for donations since 2005) | Clinic, with donor information provided | Set by clinics within HFEA rules | Stable |
| France | Donors must agree to identity disclosure (since September 2022) | Clinic | Confirm with clinic | Changed in 2022 |
| Germany | Egg donation is banned under the 1991 Embryo Protection Act. Reform has been debated, but as of spring 2026 no change had been adopted. | |||
| Colombia | Anonymous in practice | Clinic | Clinic policy | No dedicated law; confirm |
| United States | Set by contract (anonymous, known or open) | Varies by clinic, agency or egg bank | Clinic policy | Federal screening rules apply |
Anonymous-donation countries
Spain
Spain's Law 14/2006 on assisted reproduction sets out most of the rules in two articles. Article 5 says donation must be anonymous and non-commercial. Donors must be over 18, in good physical and mental health, and with full legal capacity. They may receive compensation for discomfort, travel and lost work, but the law says it must not amount to a financial incentive. Clinics and registries keep donor identity confidential, and recipients and children can obtain only general, non-identifying information. Identity can be revealed only in exceptional circumstances, such as a real danger to the child's life or health.
The same article caps the number of children born in Spain from one donor's gametes at six. Article 6 opens treatment to any woman over 18 with full legal capacity, whatever her marital status or sexual orientation, and says the medical team selects the donor, seeking the closest possible physical and immunological match. The recipient cannot choose a donor personally. Implementing regulations set an upper age for egg donors, commonly given as 35; check the current figure with your clinic.
Spain's six-child limit counts births in Spain. It does not limit births abroad from the same donor, a gap that Europe's fertility society, ESHRE, has highlighted (see the family-limits section below).
Czech Republic
Czech law (Act 373/2011 on specific health services) treats assisted reproduction as care for a couple: both partners must take part, and they must be a man and a woman. Single women and same-sex couples cannot be treated. Donation is anonymous, and an embryo transfer must happen before the woman's 49th birthday. In 2023 and 2024, Czech media reported on Ministry of Health proposals to create a central donor register, cap how many times a woman can donate eggs and limit compensation. We could not confirm whether these changes have been enacted. Ask any Czech clinic which rules currently apply.
Colombia
Colombia has no law dedicated to assisted reproduction. Its Constitutional Court has repeatedly urged Congress to legislate, most recently noting in 2025 that it had flagged the gap for more than fifteen years. In practice, clinics treat egg donation under general tissue-donation rules, which ban the sale of human tissue, so payments are described as compensation. Donation is usually anonymous. Because so much depends on clinic policy, get the clinic's donor terms in writing.
Identifiable-donation countries
United Kingdom
The HFEA says people conceived with donor eggs at UK clinics can ask for non-identifying donor information at 16, and from 18 can ask for the donor's name, date of birth and last known address, depending on when the donation was made. A donor's eggs can be used to create children in up to ten families, not counting the donor's own. UK donors have no legal rights or responsibilities toward children born from licensed treatment. Egg donor compensation is set by the HFEA; its egg donation factsheet gives a figure of £985 per cycle of donation.
Portugal
In 2018 Portugal's Constitutional Court ruled that making donor anonymity the general rule was an unnecessary restriction on donor-conceived people's rights to personal identity. It limited the effect of the ruling to protect treatments already under way, and transitional rules followed. The practical upshot is that Portugal is generally treated as an identifiable-donation country, but how the rules apply to a given donor depends on when and how the donation was made. Ask the clinic to explain in writing what your child will be able to learn.
France
France's 2021 bioethics law changed the rules for donors. Since 1 September 2022, anyone donating eggs, sperm or embryos must agree in advance that their identity can be disclosed to a donor-conceived person who asks for it in adulthood.
Greece and the choice model
Greece amended its assisted reproduction law in 2022. Under Law 4958/2022, a donor can choose to be anonymous, named, or identifiable only to the child once the child reaches adulthood and asks. The law says the choice between an anonymous and a named donor is made by the person being treated, and jointly by both partners if they are married, in a civil partnership or cohabiting. If a donor stays anonymous, their medical information is kept in a coded file that only the child can access, and only for health reasons. Donors never become legal parents.
On money, the same law bans paying donors for eggs. It allows recipients to cover the costs of collection, including medical, travel and accommodation costs, and compensation for lost earnings and physical strain, at amounts set by Greece's National Authority for Medically Assisted Reproduction. Reporting on the 2022 reform says it also raised the upper age limit for women receiving treatment to 54, with approval from the national authority needed above 50. We could not confirm every condition from the statute text itself, and the reform is recent, so ask the clinic how it applies these rules and options in practice.
Family limits and why they matter
Limits on the number of children or families per donor exist to reduce the risk of genetic half-siblings meeting unknowingly and to keep the number of donor siblings manageable for the people concerned. The problem is that limits are national. The HFEA points out that there is no global limit, that UK donors who reach the ten-family limit can still have donations exported, and that it has no power to track use abroad.
In June 2026, ESHRE published a position paper on donor offspring limits. It proposes an international starting limit of 50 families per donor, to be reduced over time, with an ultimate target of 15 families or fewer. It also calls for an EU-wide donor register, or national registers where that is not possible. These are recommendations, not law. Ask your clinic how many families its donors are used for, whether donors also donate elsewhere and whether any register tracks this.
Home-country rules you cannot ignore
Rules where you live can matter as much as rules where you are treated:
- United States. The FDA requires donor eligibility screening and testing for egg donors, including tests for HIV, hepatitis B and C, syphilis, chlamydia and gonorrhoea, under 21 CFR Part 1271. If embryos made with donor eggs abroad are later imported, documentation of this screening becomes important. See our guide to shipping frozen embryos internationally.
- United Kingdom. Importing donor eggs or embryos into a UK clinic has strict conditions, and donor consent covers how long material can be stored.
- Canada. Donor sperm and eggs used in Canada must meet federal safety regulations, and importers must notify Health Canada.
- Parentage. Who is recognised as the legal parent after donor treatment abroad depends on your home country's law. See Legal Considerations for IVF Abroad.
Choosing anonymous donation abroad does not guarantee lifelong anonymity. Consumer DNA testing can identify donors and half-siblings, as the HFEA notes. Many families now plan for openness from the start.
Questions to confirm with any donor-egg clinic
- Which law and regulator govern donor-egg treatment here, and has anything changed in the past two years?
- Is donation anonymous, identifiable or a choice? What exactly will my child be able to learn, and from what age?
- Who selects the donor, and what information will I receive about her?
- How are donors screened, including infectious disease tests, genetic history and psychological assessment?
- How many families can one donor help, and does any register track donations across clinics?
- Is donor compensation fixed by law or by the clinic, and is it included in my quote?
- Am I eligible for treatment here given my age, relationship status and circumstances?
- Will the documents I receive satisfy my home country's import and parentage rules?
- Is counselling about donor conception offered before treatment?
Frequently asked questions
Which countries allow anonymous egg donation?
Spain and the Czech Republic have anonymous donation by law, and in Colombia donation is usually anonymous in practice. Greece has allowed donors to choose anonymity, named donation or disclosure at adulthood since 2022. The UK, Portugal and France use identifiable donation in some form.
Can I choose my egg donor in Spain?
No. Spain's Law 14/2006 says the medical team selects the donor, seeking the closest possible physical and immunological match to the recipient, and the recipient cannot choose a donor personally.
Can single women or same-sex couples use donor eggs abroad?
It depends on the country. Spain's law covers any woman over 18 regardless of marital status or sexual orientation, while the Czech Republic treats only opposite-sex couples. Always confirm eligibility with the clinic before paying anything.
Is egg donation legal in Germany?
No. Egg donation is banned under Germany's 1991 Embryo Protection Act. Reform has been debated, but as of spring 2026 no change had been adopted, so many German patients travel abroad for donor-egg treatment.
How many families can one egg donor help?
There is no international limit. The UK allows up to ten families per donor and Spain caps births in Spain at six children. In 2026 ESHRE proposed a starting international limit of 50 families, ultimately reduced to 15 or fewer.
Weighing donor-egg destinations?
Tell us what matters most to your family, such as anonymity, donor choice or eligibility, and we will help you work out which destinations fit and what to confirm with clinics.
Request a free consultation →Sources
- Ley 14/2006 sobre técnicas de reproducción humana asistida — Boletín Oficial del Estado (Spain)
- Law 4958/2022, Article 11 (donor identity, amending Civil Code Art. 1460) — Greek legislation text via Taxheaven
- Using donated eggs, sperm or embryos in treatment — Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA)
- Press release on Acórdão 225/2018 (assisted reproduction) — Tribunal Constitucional (Portugal)
- Position paper on donor offspring limits (June 2026) — European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE)
- 21 CFR Part 1271 Subpart C: Donor eligibility — US Electronic Code of Federal Regulations
This article is for general information only and is not medical or legal advice. Fertility treatment decisions should be made with a qualified fertility specialist who knows your history, and legal questions should go to a lawyer qualified in the relevant country. Laws, clinic policies and prices change, so confirm current details directly with any clinic before you commit. IVF Abroad is an independent guide and does not provide medical care.