Aphrodite Egg Bank, operating under Pedieos IVF Center, is licensed by both the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Cyprus and by the European Tissue and Cells Directives (EUTCD). Following all the legal guidelines of these two accredited and prestigious boards, Pedieos IVF is within its legal boundaries to procure, test, process, store, distribute, import and export human gametes and embryos.
The Medically Assisted Reproduction (MAR) Law in Cyprus, which our clinic complies with, clearly states that women of ages 18 to 35 can become egg donors. Therefore it is fully legal to acquire young women that are willing to donate their gametes to help couples have a child.
The compensation given to donors is not a payment for buying their eggs in any way. This compensation is the legal practice as per EU legislation and is given to egg and sperm donors, to cover their reasonable expenses and loss of income. Compensation is, of course, higher for women per donation, as their treatment involves taking injectable medications and visiting the clinic several times for ultrasound appointments and blood tests; thus their loss of income is much higher than that of their male counterparts.
There is a clear difference between advertising and informing, hence the way donors are recruited is very important in making sure we comply with the law. It is fully legal to inform the public that infertile couples need egg donation to have a child, and that the process is anonymous and safe.
Exporting donor oocytes to other countries is a legal activity as per MAR Law, provided that all the proper checks take place and ensuring that the receiving clinics are also licensed and accredited by the EUTCD.
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