Egg donation: will the child look like me? Genetics, pregnancy and epigenetics

‘Will he look like me?’ This is a question I am often asked, sometimes in a hushed voice, at the end of an initial consultation. It deserves an honest answer, without false promises or dramatisation. With egg donation, the resemblance determined by genes will come from the donor and the father, or the sperm donor. The woman carrying the pregnancy contributes something else – something real, but which is not part of her genetic makeup.

Here is what we know, what we do not know, and how donor matching works in Greece.

Egg donation and resemblance: what the child inherits, and from whom

Every child inherits half of their chromosomes from their genetic mother and the other half from their genetic father. With egg donation, the first half therefore comes from the donor. It is also the donor who passes on the DNA from the mitochondria, small structures found within cells: as the US National Human Genome Research Institute points out, children inherit their mitochondria from their mother – in this case, from the donor’s egg.

Physical traits that are genetically determined, such as eye or hair colour, will therefore be passed on from the donor and the father. If you are also using a sperm donor, the situation is described in the article on double donation.

What pregnancy really brings

Pregnancy is not merely a matter of providing a home: the environment within the womb influences the child’s growth. A study published in 2009 demonstrated this using a rare set of cases: children conceived via IVF and carried by a woman who may or may not have been their genetic mother. Smoking during pregnancy reduced birth weight in both cases, indicating an effect of pregnancy itself, independent of genes. Conversely, the link between smoking and antisocial behaviour in the child only emerged when the mother was also the genetic mother: it was therefore inherited.

In practical terms, what you do during pregnancy matters for your baby’s health: do not smoke, have your blood pressure and blood sugar levels monitored, and take any prescribed medication. The specific risks associated with pregnancy following egg donation are detailed in the article on the risks of pregnancy following IVF.

Egg donation and epigenetics: what the most cited study reveals

Epigenetics studies the chemical modifications that regulate gene activity, by ‘switching them on’ or ‘switching them off’, without changing the DNA sequence. It is sometimes claimed that a recipient may thus pass on a part of herself to the child. This argument is based primarily on a study published in 2015 in the journal Development. It showed that, at the time of implantation, the human endometrium secretes a small molecule called microRNA miR-30d, and that, in the laboratory, mouse embryos absorbed it, which increased their ability to adhere and altered the activity of certain genes linked to this adhesion.

This is an interesting finding regarding the interaction between the mother and the embryo at the time of implantation. However, the authors themselves refer to it as a proposed model: absorption was observed in mouse embryos, and the study does not focus on a child’s physical traits. None of the studies I have read show that a recipient passes on her physical traits in this way. Be wary of claims that present this idea as a certainty.

How is the match with the donor made in Greece?

In Greece, for an anonymous donation, it is the clinic that chooses the donor, not you. The law requires the clinic to take particular account of blood group – in the ABO and Rhesus systems – and the physical characteristics of the prospective parents. Centres and cryopreservation banks maintain a register containing details such as the donors’ height, skin and eye colour, level of education, medical history, origin, family situation and occupation. You will generally be provided with a few non-identifying characteristics, without a photograph or name; further details can be found in the article on Greek donation law.

Matching aims for a plausible resemblance, not an exact copy: it makes a resemblance possible, but does not guarantee it. In Greece, donation is anonymous by default; since 2022, the law has also provided for forms of non-anonymous donation, but these remain rare in practice. Since the same reform, the Civil Code has also permitted donation between relatives, but only between collateral relatives, such as a sister or a cousin. Guidance from the National Authority dated 28 May 2026 states that a non-anonymous donor may donate to people she already knows, provided she meets all the legal requirements for donors: registration on the register, age, and clinical and biological tests. Ask the clinic, in writing, whether it accepts this and how. The child would then share some of your genes. In this case, I would advise psychological support, both for the donor and for you.

What studies show about these families

Researchers at the University of Cambridge’s Centre for Family Research have been following families conceived through donation for many years. In a study published in 2019, comparing 85 families conceived through egg donation with 65 families conceived through IVF, parents in both groups described their relationship with their baby in very similar terms; observation of their interactions revealed minor, less favourable differences between the mothers and their babies in families formed through donation. In another study based on interviews with 85 mothers, the importance attached to the genetic link varied greatly; most had adapted well and, by the end of the first year, felt confident in their role as mothers.

At the age of 14, in a small cohort, adolescents born through egg donation were doing just as well as their peers, but the mother–adolescent relationship was described as less positive than in families resulting from sperm donation, by both mothers and adolescents. The sample size is small – 27 families conceived through egg donation – and these findings need to be confirmed. Above all, they suggest that this is a topic worth discussing, not avoiding.

When those around you look for similarities

‘He’s got your eyes’: the comment is bound to come up, whether in the maternity ward or at a family meal. Prepare your response in advance – together, if you’re a couple – and decide what you’ll tell the child themselves. The ESHRE’s 2022 recommendations call for prospective parents to be able to discuss with a counsellor what it means to have a child with whom they share no genetic link, and for them to receive support in explaining this to their child using age-appropriate language. The ‘how’ and ‘when’ are covered in talking to your child about donation, and the support available is detailed in the article on psychological support.

If you would like to discuss these issues before choosing a clinic, please email me.

Frequently asked questions

Source: https://fertilitegrece.com/en/blog/egg-donation-will-baby-look-like-me/ — Triada Baloukoudis, IVF patient coordination in Greece. General information, not medical or legal advice. Printed on

Triada Baloukoudis
Independent IVF patient coordinator in Thessaloniki, with 24 years of experience supporting patients travelling from abroad. More · Contact · Facebook