The first egg bank in Japan is expected to register initial donors by midmonth to help infertile young married women have children, Oocyte Donation Network (OD-NET) said Thursday.

The nonprofit organization, founded last November by doctors specializing in fertility treatment and patients' representatives, started soliciting egg donations in January. Thirty-eight women have so far been selected from the more than 100 who have applied, the group said.

The Kobe-based NPO is in the final phase of registering them for the bank.