Donor Egg IVF in Mumbai: Our ART Bank in Powai

Short answer. Donor egg IVF in Mumbai runs through a registered ART Bank, and ours is in Powai. Zoi Fertility’s ART Bank (URN MH/AB/2022/10691/Mumbai/83) screens, registers and matches the donor, and your cycle takes place at a registered Level 2 ART clinic (Act s.27(1); Rules r.3(1)(ii)). If you live in Mumbai, you can meet us in person, see our certificates and plan each step from close to home.

Where is the egg bank in Mumbai?

Our ART Bank is on the 2nd Floor, Millennium Tower, Powai, Mumbai 400076. The registered bank is Zoi Fertility. Egg Donor India is only the name of this website and our donor programme. You can read about our donor egg IVF programme on the Zoi Fertility website.

Under the ART Act, only a registered ART Bank may screen egg donors and provide them (Act s.27(1)). A bank and a clinic register separately, even when they share a building (Government of India, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (Department of Health Research), File No. I.11019/37/2023-HR dated 9 Mar 2023, Q2). That is why the bank and the clinic hold separate registrations.

We have been running our oocyte donor programme for more than 20 years. We believe that if you are looking for your own genetic baby, you need to undergo IVF. But where the partner is unable to give their own genetic material, and is confused whether it is even fair to take donor assistance, they need to remember that the child makes the couple a family. It is not as easy as it sounds, but one of our patients told us that this thought helped them have a baby today with egg donor cycles.

What happens when you visit the ART Bank in Powai?

Many Mumbai families want to sit across the table from us before they decide. We think that is a good instinct. A first visit usually covers four things.

• A private talk with your coordinator about your plan, your questions and the order of the steps.
• A consultation with our Medical Director, Dr Yashodhara Mhatre, who looks at your reports and plans your treatment.
• Our registration certificates. They are displayed at our premises, and a copy is shared on request.
• Your documents. Bring photo ID (Aadhaar, PAN or passport), your marriage certificate if you are a couple, and recent fertility reports such as AMH, semen analysis and any past IVF summary.

Please book the visit first, so that your coordinator and the doctor have time set aside for you. If you like, check our registration yourself before you come. Our guide on how to check if an ART Bank is registered shows you how.

How does donor matching work for Mumbai families?

The steps are the same for every family. After your consultation, tests and documents, you register with the bank and then see donor profiles. You review them with your coordinator, and your doctor and the bank confirm the match. Each donor is supplied to one couple or one woman only (Act s.27(3)).

A profile never shows a photo, name or contact details, because the law keeps the donor’s details confidential (Act s.21(e)). Our post on how egg donor matching works without photos explains what you do see.

Living in the city helps with the practical side. Your appointments during the cycle are a trip across the city, not a flight, and you are welcome to come in to talk things through, preferably by appointment. You do not have to, though. Consultations are not only for the first meeting. We are technology driven, so prescriptions, documentation, donor selection and investigation requisitions can be done online and emailed to you at the click of a button.

Can I stay with my own IVF doctor in Mumbai?

It may be possible. We work with registered Level 2 ART clinics in Mumbai. In that model the bank screens, registers and matches the donor, and your clinic does the stimulation and egg retrieval and treats you (Rules r.3(1)(ii), r.13(1)(c)). The bank never stimulates a donor or retrieves eggs itself.

Before a clinic receives its first donor from us, it shares its Level 2 registration certificate and signs a written agreement with the bank. If your doctor’s clinic is not yet a partner, ask the clinic to write to us through our page for ART clinics.

One thing never changes, whichever clinic you choose. Nobody may use an agent or middleman to obtain a donor; that is an offence (Act s.33(1)(g)).

Can a woman in Mumbai donate eggs through the bank?

Yes, if she is 23 to 35 years old (Act s.27(2)(b)). She may donate only once in her life (Act s.27(4)), and she applies to the bank directly. Her documented expenses can be reimbursed with no monetary gain, and the commissioning couple or woman buys her 12 months of insurance against complications of retrieval (Act s.22(1)(b); Rules r.12).

What should you watch out for in donor egg IVF in Mumbai?

• A price for a donor. Selling gametes is an offence (Act s.33(1)(b)). A registered bank may charge for its services but cannot sell gametes (File No. I.11019/51/2022-HR dated 2 Dec 2022, Q1 to 3).
• Donor photos passed around on a phone. Our bank shows profiles without photos, names or contact details.
• Offers of eggs from abroad. Eggs, sperm and embryos cannot be brought into India (Act s.33(1)(c)).

For the full picture, read how an Indian egg donor reaches a family through a registered ART Bank, and our guide to egg donation law in India.

Book a private consultation with your coordinator, by phone or at our Powai office.

Questions

References

• Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021 (Act No. 42 of 2021): sections 21(e), 22(1)(b), 27(1), 27(2)(b), 27(3), 27(4), 33(1)(b), (c) and (g).
• Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Rules, 2022 (G.S.R. 419(E)): rules 3(1)(ii), 12 and 13(1)(c).
• Government of India, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (Department of Health Research): File No. I.11019/37/2023-HR dated 9 Mar 2023; File No. I.11019/51/2022-HR dated 2 Dec 2022.

This page explains the law as published. It is not legal advice.