For would-be parents who are unable to have children without medical assistance, one possible option is to use an egg donor. This method involves a donor anonymously giving her eggs to an infertile patient to help them give birth. But after undergoing the (sometimes tough) decision to have fertility treatment, hopeful-moms-to-be are faced with a second question: “Will my kid look like me?” Ovobank, a pioneering egg bank in Spain, has a high-tech answer to the conundrum — and it involves using facial recognition to match up patients to similar-looking donors.
Until now, this process was achieved by looking at the patient’s phenotypical characteristics — referring to their height, hair color, eye color, and skin color. The facial matching part was then a subjective decision made based on the doctor’s choices. What Ovomatch offers instead is a facial-recognition matching algorithm, which allows the patient to find their idea donor by snapping a quick selfie through a mobile app.
After this process is carried out, the app sends out two reports: One to the collaborating IVF center so they can begin to program the treatment, and the other to Ovobank so that it can prepare the necessary paperwork related to the egg donation. Finally, Ovobank will get in contact with the collaboration center, and arrange shipment of the eggs.