I wondered if anyone could advise.. after ivf & 3 FETs with my own eggs, I am now trying to have a 2nd child (1st born from own egg FET, would like him not to be an only child if possible) I am now 42 & have very limited financial resources left to throw at this, so I was hoping for the famous ‘one last try’ with donor eggs, as success rate higher than my own decrepit eggs! I was looking at frozen eggs as this seems cheaper & v nearly as successful (feel ashamed to say that but really it does come down to that at this point) I contacted a clinic in the NW Uk and they said there was a 6 mth wait for frozen eggs, & longer for fresh. Another clinic that has branches all over the uk said 6 mths too! Does anyone know if there are any UK clinics that don’t have this long a wait time for even frozen eggs? I stupidly thought they would be waiting already in the freezer!? I would not be too fussy on the characteristics - would just like Caucasian, and fair. I have looked into going abroad too but think this would be too much to organise with COVID, my small son, dog/tortoise/cat-sitter etc etc
If anyone could advise I would be grateful, I am a bit dejected at the prospect of all this & it seems insurmountable. Wonder whether I should just enjoy what I have been blessed with and give up!
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You do indeed, I’m not sure if there is a shortage of donors or not hence why the lists are so long.
We’ve got two Frosties left from our donor round. I’m currently 11 weeks +2 and as long as we make it to the finishing line okay then that’ll be it for us
Hello,We’re in a similar position. I’m 41 and don’t have endless funds for repeated cycles with my clearly rubbish eggs
So we’re going to try Spain this year. We’ve already had a consultation and plan on heading out when restrictions lift. Happy to share details if you want to PM me!
I would look abroad!!!. No waiting list and lot cheaper. My clinc was 80% succes rate and worked first time for us. Xxx
Covid has caused all sorts of problems with egg banks as they have been all used up and no one has been able to donate as clinics were closed etc. The clinic I am at in london does frozen fresh rounds so they don’t have any in the bank but fresh donors are allocated to you but their eggs are frozen
I was told you would be matched within 8 weeks but then there is a wait for treatment. We were matched within 8 weeks but then at the last minute our donor ‘changed their mind’ and dropped out.:. And we haven’t heard anything since
Donor is super expensive though as you are covering the donors costs as well as your own so it’s almost double OE cycles price
I was told up to 3 years for donor in the uk so we are looking abroad and find theirs is 1-3 months plus less than half the cost over here and higher success rates. We are just in the process of contacting clinics to see which we will go with. I guess it depends if you have a friend who is willing to donate or which clinic you go to here as to how long it will take to get a match. For the uk donor eggs sometime has to volunteer to give eggs or they are known to the people wanting them whereas abroad there's a huge list of donors as they are paid for their eggs so have much more choice and can match as best they can. There's alot of tests and screening to be done first too. Quite fascinating really. I hope whatever you choose brings you happiness x
I'm in Scotland and just this week we were told it's 2 years. We're trying a second round with my own eggs in July but have been on the donor waiting list since last November as my amh is only 0.3 and chances of success are low. I'd agree with trying abroad if you don't want to wait.
We used Care last year, we started the process in May after the clinics reopened and had chosen our frozen donor egg and started medication by July. At the time they had a bank of frozen eggs available. Maybe worth a try? Good luck on your journey x
Just FYI I was with Care for my OE rounds and wanted to use them for DE.. but their bank is essentially empty and they are in the process of building it up.. they aren't taking any more people (even existing clients) on their waiting list at the moment.. they have said they might start adding to the wait list end of this month early next and then probs a 4-5 month wait to start. Was quite disappointed I wasn't allowed on the list partly because I love my Care clinic and partly because they have had so much money (6 OE Fresh rounds) out of us! x
Hi there! I too am considering donor egg route, I’ve just started another own egg round but this may be the only option soon.
What I would say after already going down the rabbit hole on this (you may also have done so!) is to bare in mind that I think most clinics like you to have gone through implications counselling before treatment, and also consider the fact that many clinics abroad are anonymous donor, which comes with its own implications - like I said you may already know all this but thought I’d raise it 😊 wishing you all the very best xx
I had donor egg transfer but the donor and clinic were in Spain. It was coordinated by fertility for Life in London. There was a wait but that was caused by covid
Hi I did donor egg in Athens and there was no wait list. It took about 3 months from starting process to transfer. 1st didn’t work but 2nd attempt did and we now have a 5 month little boy. My consultant in Athens is amazing and her affiliate clinic for the donor eggs great too. I don’t know the situation atm but worth checking. It’s significantly cheaper there. It was c£3500 for the eggs plus the Ivf treatment. I can pass on the details if you would like. I didn’t think eggs survived the freezing process well without being embryos.
I would be interested in hearing about your clinic in Greece too. Reeling from a failed donor egg cycle and just need some hope and looking at clinics abroad as having spoken to some UK clinics, the wait time in clinics generally up to 6 months.
Sorry should have read other posts before posting! I contacted CARE Sheffield about 6 weeks ago so maybe things have changed but at that time they were ready to book me a consultation.
Let’s hope they can build up their egg bank.
I was also in contact with the London egg bank and the york with satellite clinics in the north and south. They seemed to have a bigger bank and regularly e-mail me with details of new donors on their list.
They are a bit more expensive but the choice of donors is greater. I can’t recall the waiting time but I’m sure was no longer than 6 months.
I know it’s frustrating but the time pressure (for us, I’m 40) is taken away with donor eggs. But I appreciate the whole process seems painfully slow,
We’re starting donor egg treatment. We were matched to a donor via an agency in the UK (Altrui). It took 3 days to be matched. We’re hoping to start a fresh cycle in a few months.
It’s more expensive in the uk but we didn’t feel comfortable going abroad due to the anonymity laws and the uncertainty with Covid travel restrictions.
Hi, if you are looking for Caucasian and fair looking donor - Czech Republic has a ton of those. No wait and over the summer, travel in Europe may ease up hopefully. The service is amazing there and price is right ✅.
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