Egg donor IVF

[Southwestcat]

Hi - is anyone else about to embark with IVF using an egg donor.? I am 43 and restarting (after recent cancellations) in June in the UK for first time with the help of a donor . DCN /counsellor/ clinic all being helpful but time drags and worries about each hurdle are huge . x

[MrsH17]

Hi Lovely,

Read your post and didn’t want to read and run.

I have not received a donor egg but I did egg share a few years ago if I can help with any questions you may have xxx

[Southwestcat in reply to MrsH17]

ah thank you , i am interested in your experience. did you think about the recipient and ask about success for her / preganancy/births ? did you have successful ivf yourself, i hope so ? in general i have found peace i feel with the donor issues, almost as if this is the way it is meant to be for me , i guess it is the general ivf anxieties / failures which i worry about now and also family who have been less than helpful tbh ! x

[MrsH17 in reply to Southwestcat]

Yes I did think about her and consider her a lot when I was going through the process. They used to make you decide if you didn’t get enough eggs to share would you keep or give to recipient and I let them know my choice would be to give to her. I think when you egg share you have had your own struggle with fertility therefore you naturally have compassion for her. I am fully aware that the egg donor route is often the last resort for the recipients meaning they had gone through a lot before making that big decision.

In terms or feeling like you want it quick and no delays if you are eggs sharing the donor is going to feel that way also as she will want to get her treatment going without delay.

The anxiety over whether it will work is completely normal and I am sorry you don’t feel you have the support or understanding of others. Being a part of this group will hopefully be able to help support you more as you are with people that are going through the same as you.

If you ever want to chat DM me

And the good news is we both got pregnant 😊 I had a girl and she had a boy xxx

[Picalilli99]

Our next step will be IVF with an egg donor (after many failed rounds with my own eggs). But we are not due to embark on it just yet. We need to save up some more first. Prior to lockdown we had just started to consider the possibility of going abroad for treatment due to so many positive reviews on here. However, with everything going on in the world I’m now not sure whether we might revert back to plan a - doing it in the U.K if it might mean slightly less hurdles! But will wait and see how things pan out over the next few months. Best of luck with your treatment. The hurdles are tough and it’s understandable if you feel worried. This is a great place to come if you need support. Hoping you can get going soon lovely xx

[Southwestcat in reply to Picalilli99]

hi, yes i also had OE IVF and am now 43 - yes feel for those cycling abroad and cancelled atm with such uncertainty , i am single too so it is DD , the lady has started and i start in june- i guess each hurdle in the prcoess feels so huge and like others i feel so exhausted emotionally after years of hopes and prayers ! feel real peace around the donor issues though non anonymity as in the UK feels important to me and also going abroad felt too much on my own. a step at a time for us all ! yes the finance is £11000 and 1.5 for each subsequent E/T so that and my age means i will continue for as long as i can - yes support is invaluable esp as single and family have not been great ! really good luck too x

[Chrissyp22]

I just had my son in January via known donor. Amazing experience and wish I’d done it sooner xx

[emu2016]

hey, every now and again I can’t ignore a post that I see an alert for. I’m rarely on here since I had my little girl in January 2019 using egg donation. It was my second attempt with someone else’s eggs. The UK process is quite long, but keep going. If you wanted some advice etc get in touch. There’s a great book called having your baby through egg donation. It’s a great read. I had a little account on instagram called @ivflady and if you look at my profile here you’ll get an idea for my story! Take care x

[Southwestcat in reply to emu2016]

Thank you for the above, who is the auther of this book please ? thanks x

[sazzle2680]

I currently have 5 donor Frosties over in Spain that I’m hopefully going to get to transfer once the borders open. Happy to talk about my experience and why I chose the clinic I did.x

[Hidden]

I have my wee boy after 7 years of trying. 3 rounds with my own eggs and then 3 with donor. At least with the donor I finally got pregnant and didn't have to keep revving up my old follicles to produce nothing. I have premature ovarian failure so very few follicles - 2 at the last count - to get any eggs from. The last own egg round was cancelled due to lack of follicle response. Compared to that the donor egg process seems like a dreamlike breeze. Throughout this journey though it feels like a dream one minute and a nightmare the next. Overall the donor egg process was a very positive one for me. Especially as we now have Angus who is already 10 months old. Happy to chat. X

[Southwestcat]

wonderful news xx , A known donor being family / friend ? do you still see the donor ?

[Hidden]

Hi Southwestcat, I hope you are well. After our first abandoned cycle due to not responding to stimm's I was told our only option was egg donation so we chose a clinic in the Czech Republic. I'm going to be 43 in Aug and have booked in my next transfer for end Sept, all being well. Feel free to PM me if you want to chat xx

[Pinkpaw2]

I had donor eggs and the donor was my sister first icsi round and I’m now 13 weeks pregnant x

[treezuk]

Mum to DE twins (14m) after getting pregnant via a Greek clinic.

Happy to answer any questions if you have any.

[Balletpearl]

Hi Southwestcat,

We have the same age and I am in the exactly same situation as you (only that we chose a clinic in Spain with an anonymous donor). You can message me so we can share during the process, I believe we may help each other.

I am also considering buying the book emu2016 mentioned I guess it's this one:

amazon.com/Having-Your-Baby...

Best of luck in your journey! 🤞🍀

[Southwestcat in reply to Balletpearl]

Hi - Thanks - are the clinics open in Spain? I hope so. when does your treatment start ? x

[Balletpearl in reply to Southwestcat]

Mine is open since the beggining of the month. I have already started and I was going to make the transfer last March, but it was cancelled due to COVID19.Now that we received the green light from the clinic I have to wait for my period to start again the medications to prepare my endometrium for the embrio transfer (if everything goes well by the end of July).🤞Even with the preparation I'll have to take a PCR test for COVID in the week of the transfer and they will only proceeded in case the results turn out negative. We signed the authorization form yesterday.

[Southwestcat in reply to Balletpearl]

I just wondered how many eggs / embryos there are , and are you the sole recipient ? Just helps to have an idea about how things can go , although obvs no worries if you don't wish to share this or were the eggs frozen previously.

I decided to be sole recipient, the kind donor has her first scan on 29th May , i start meds/scans soon ( my periods have gone wrong which i am worried about ) so starting meds randommly and it is all FET anyway , x

[Balletpearl in reply to Southwestcat]

We were not very lucky with the first donor (we are using a second one). With the first donor we had 8 eggs, all fertilized but none develop to day 5.

So they gave us a new donor with no extra charge and this time 4 eggs, 3 developed to blastocists, but only one good quality reached day 5 to be frozen.

For this cycle we only have one shot. If the embryo doesn't take we will have to start it all over again.

And I am not the sole recepient. May I ask you why it matters to you? X

[Southwestcat]

Thank you for the information about how things are going for you. It was just to get an idea about how things might / can go for a recipient as I havent been a recipient b4 for donor IVF , for example how many eggs and embryos people might expect , although of course it is totally unpredictable . I am not sure how long i would be able to keep going with things due to age/ finance / energy so it is helpful to get an idea.

I wish you bestest luck with it , i dont know about you but i am full of worries , to be expected I think x

[Balletpearl in reply to Southwestcat]

Good morning Southwestcat. You are very welcome. Anything else I can help, just let me know.

We all have doubts, questions and ups and downs... I guess it's part of the process.

This forum and literature help me a lot to see we are not alone.

I am the first in my family to go through infertility, I had no idea were to look at or who to ask for help.

It is a hard journey, but I believe it's totally worthed. X