- By Zoi Fertility · Registered ART Bank
- URN: MH/AB/2022/10691/Mumbai/83
Law guide
Medically reviewed by Dr Yashodhara Mhatre, Medical Director · Published by Dr Sudhir Ajja, Director · Last reviewed 28 Oct 2026
Short answer
Egg donation in India is legal and regulated by the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021 and the ART Rules, 2022. A donor must be 23 to 35 years old (s.27(2)(b)) and may donate only once in her life (s.27(4)). Donors are screened and registered by a registered ART Bank (s.27(1)). Egg donation for commercial gain is not allowed; documented expenses may be reimbursed.
This page explains the law as published. It is not legal advice. Official references are listed at the end.
ART (Regulation) Act, 2021
Act No. 42 of 2021; assent 18 Dec 2021; Gazette of India (Extraordinary) 20 Dec 2021.
ART (Regulation) Rules, 2022
G.S.R. 419(E), 7 June 2022; amended by G.S.R. 771(E) (10 Oct 2022), 126(E) (24 Feb 2023), 493(E) (11 Jul 2023).
ART Regulations, 2023
G.S.R. 269(E), 5 April 2023: retrieval and embryo transfer norms.
Government of India clarifications
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Department of Health Research (the department that administers the Act), cited by file number below.
Question
Position
Reference
Who screens and supplies donors?
Only a registered ART Bank, registered as an independent entity
Act s.27(1); Rules r.3(2)
Donor age
23 to 35 years
Act s.27(2)(b)
How many times?
Once in her life
Act s.27(4)
One donor, how many couples?
One commissioning couple only
Act s.27(3)
Health testing
HIV 1 and 2, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, syphilis (VDRL)
Rules r.10, r.14; Act s.21(b)
Records
Name, Aadhaar, address; written confidentiality undertaking by the donor
Act s.27(6); Rules r.15
Insurance
12 months of cover for the donor, bought by the commissioning couple or woman from an IRDA recognised insurer, covering complications of egg retrieval
Act s.22(1)(b); Rules r.12
Consent
Written informed consent of all parties; donor consent in Form 13
Act s.22(1)(a); Rules r.13
Parental rights
The donor gives up all parental rights; the child is the legal child of the commissioning couple
Act s.31(1) and (2)
Confidentiality
Information about the couple, woman and donor is kept confidential; shared only with the National Registry, in a medical emergency at the couple’s request, or by court order
Act s.21(e)
Where is retrieval done?
At an ART clinic (surgical retrieval at Level 2 clinics), not by the bank
Rules r.3(1)(ii), r.13(1)(c)
Marital status and children
File No. I.11019/51/2022-HR dated 29 Nov 2022, Q3: any woman aged 23 to 35 may donate, subject to the Act and Rules. Unmarried women and women without children are eligible.
Age
23 to 35 years (Act s.27(2)(b)).
Known donors
File No. I.11019/39/2022-HR dated 15 Nov 2022, Q2 and Q4: a woman known to the couple can donate, following the set procedure; a relative may donate after screening and registration by a registered ART Bank (File No. I.11019/34/2022-HR dated 1 Nov 2022, Q4).
Expenses
Egg donation for commercial gain is not allowed. The donor’s expenses for travel, food, stay and loss of employment may be reimbursed by the couple or woman, with no monetary gain; no ceiling or time limit is set (File No. I.11019/39/2022-HR dated 15 Nov 2022, Q11 to 14; File No. I.11019/46/2022-HR dated 25 Nov 2022, Q3 to 5).
Foreign nationals
The Act does not bar foreign nationals, subject to eligibility (File No. I.11019/37/2023-HR dated 9 Mar 2023, Q1). Donor gametes cannot be sold or transferred out of India (s.29), so parents travel to India.
Issued by the Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
Selling gametes, running an agency or organisation to trade gametes, importing gametes, exploiting a donor, and using intermediaries to obtain or purchase donors are prohibited (Act s.33(1)(b), (c), (d), (g)). Breaking these rules is punishable with heavy fines and, for repeat offences, prison (s.33(2); s.34). Advertising sex selective ART is prohibited (s.32).
Zoi Fertility is a registered ART Bank at 2nd Floor, Millennium Tower, Powai, Mumbai 400076. The bank screens and registers donors. Stimulation and retrieval take place at a registered Level 2 ART clinic. Each donor is supplied to one commissioning couple only (Act s.27(3)).
URN MH/AB/2022/10691/Mumbai/83
Hover or tap a card to see the answer.
Yes. The Act sets age 23 to 35, and the Government clarification (Government of India, MoHFW (DHR), File No. I.11019/51/2022-HR dated 29 Nov 2022, Q3) confirms any woman in that age band may donate, subject to eligibility.
No. The Act and Rules set no such condition; the same clarification applies.
Yes, after screening and registration by a registered ART Bank (Government of India, MoHFW (DHR), File No. I.11019/39/2022-HR dated 15 Nov 2022, Q2 and Q4).
No. Egg donation for commercial gain is not allowed. Documented expenses are reimbursed, with no monetary gain, and the donor is insured for 12 months.
Once in her life (Act s.27(4)).
No. Donor gametes cannot be sold or transferred out of India (s.29). Parents travel to India for treatment.
