considering donor eggs

[IVFat43]

we started late on our fertility journey for numerous reasons. Had my first ivf this summer, had low AMH 2.5 at 43 years old. We had two blasts but didn’t take. We we’re getting ready for another round but just found out that my AMH is now 0.7. Is there any point trying with own eggs given my age and such low AMH or should we just go donor egg route?? Would love to hear any similar stories and thoughts.

[Franjohn]

hello there! We had 5 rounds of ivf with my own eggs and 5 negative results, we have just gone to Spain and done a donor egg round and yesterday on my 35th birthday had our first ever BfP! It’s very early days but it has worked for us! Good luck! Xx

[IVFat43 in reply to Franjohn]

congratulations, delighted for you and thank you for sharing your story. Would you be happy to share the clinic details in Spain as I’m considering Spain too. Thanks so much. Xx

[ChloeDE]

We did 2x OE rounds with the NHS. We were supposed to get 3x rounds but l, because I had a good number of eggs fertilise the previous two rounds but none make it to blastocyst, they couldn't justify a third round.

We spoke about doing more rounds privately but, from our conversation with the clinic, we would be wasting our money and putting ourselves through more heartache. Unsuccessful ivf treatment quickly takes its toll on your happiness and relationship.

We went to czech republic for donor treatment - the wait time was minimal, it's cheaper and they offer really good packages. We now have donor egg twins and they are the best thing that has ever happened to us.

It's not an easy decision to come to and it's not for everyone but I wouldn't change my babies for the world. Drop me a DM if you want to chat. X

[katymcg in reply to ChloeDE]

sorry to jump in on this, woul you mind sharing the clinic with me 2 please

[ChloeDE in reply to katymcg]

sent you a

[katiehopeful81 in reply to ChloeDE]

hi, just seen your post and currently looking into DE. Have been considering Czech and wondered if you mind messaging me and sharing your experience of the clinic including wait times and also how your pregnancy was with twins x

[Bomboncita]

Hi, congratulations!! Happy to hear that you made your dream come true. May I ask where you went in Czech Republic? (Privately, of course). I'm thinking of going to Spain next, if my transfer in Nov does not work.

[Bomboncita]

Heya, I'm 43 and started this journey 3 years ago.

I don't have a very low AMH for my age, but indeed it is going down. Plus, I regularly hear that even if I had a good AMH, the quality of my eggs at my age is probably not good.

During these 3 years, I've done 4 egg retrievals and transfers. I even froze my eggs at the age of 38 in order to avoid what is happening to me now, but it did not work with those eggs either. I've also had a hysteroscopy and will be having a scratch in October to test NK cells. There's also male factor in my case. It is hard to say when to stop with own eggs, isn't it? It is a difficult and personal decision.

Currently, I live in Germany (which doesn't allow egg donation) and if things don't work for me in November (I have 3 pronuclei waiting in the freezer), then I will most likely take the DE route. It makes sense for me to go to Spain and try DE there (since I'm Spanish), but at the same time, Czech Republic is closer geographically to where we live now.

Anyway, everyone is different. I wish you luck in your journey and take good care of yourself. 😊

[M_fox]

We tried naturally for nearly 15 years and by the time we went for help I was told I’d only have a 1% chance using my own eggs ( AMH was low like you and I was 47!) we went down the donor egg option (my nhs clinic partnered with a Spanish clinic for Donor eggs) and we got pregnant at first transfer. Currently sitting with my little 8 week old daughter so we are so grateful we decided to go straight to donor, it’s a hard decision but seemed our only option for a family. Hope everything works out for you xx

[IVFat43]

congratulations that’s incredible! Thank you for sharing too as that gives me great hope. Have a great life with your little one xx

[Stampy45]

Hi I'm 46 and had my little girl (now 18 months old) by DE... beat decision of my life and wished iut girst clinic suggested this earlier rather than draining us financially. She is the spitting image of my husband and she is a joy. We have another embryo in the fridge.. her twin and we are hoping to transfer later tjis year or early next year. No regrets except should have had her earlier. Xx

[IVFat43 in reply to Stampy45]

Awh that’s amazing. Thank you. We are speaking to a clinic in Spain and going down the DE route. I have no doubt I’d love the child no less. We have 3 cats and if I can love them the way I do which is insane, a human kid will be a whole new level 😂😊 we can’t wait to get started. Good luck with the next round xx

[Stampy45 in reply to IVFat43]

Wishing you all the best and praying 🙏 it goes well... xxx

[Cinderella5]

I cant tell you what to do but we have twins with DE and they couldnt be anymore our babies..... i went into this with fears, grief and lots of upset BUT if it gives you the chance to be a Mummy....well all i can say is, its sooo worth it!xxx

[Gempuddleduck]

I’m 26 weeks with donor eggs and so far so good! It worked for us first time and I too wish we’d done it sooner.

Lots of luck! Xxx

[Lenni222]

Hi lovely. Im 42 and We also had 4 failed rounds using my own eggs, no reason found but was completely devastating. We eventually decided to go down the egg donor route and were blessed with our beautiful daughter on our second round using donor eggs on 21/8/22. Its quite a strange process in the beginning (I found reading the donor profiles a bit odd, but once I relaxed a little it became easier.)

I would also advise having a look at a programme called Access Fertility. It is a donor refund programme and providing your criteria you can qualify for a 50, 75 or 100% refund if sadly it doesnt work out for you. We used this and although more costly upfront, if you are planning a few rounds works out pretty good. Just bear in mind that younpay for the eggs on top of your initial layout (hence why it is quite costly compared to using your own eggs).

I wish you all the love and luck and you are more than welcome to contact me. Im no expert but have been in your position and know what a big decision it is ❤️ xxx

[Wilma26 in reply to Lenni222]

hi hun hope you don’t mind me jumping on I’m just reading this and we are thinking about going down the egg donation route with LWC and London egg bank. How far down the line are? Hope it’s going well.

This would be my third round of Ivf and I have had a misscarriage with my last round so been advised due to low amh this would be best option. Just finding it all such a mind field and alot fo get your head around x

[Lenni222 in reply to Wilma26]

Hi darling..I'm so sorry to hear about your loss..that must have been devastating for you. We tried donor eggs on our 5th round and didn't even end up with a blastocyst, the same as when using my own eggs..that was hard as had kind of (naively) thought we'd have a much better chance.

We took our time looking through the donors as is it quite an odd experience. With our 2nd round (6th total) we thankfully ended up with pur first graded blastocyst. Had the transfer on 8/12/21 and thankfully the result is currently having a feed as I type this. 💗.

Once you get over the strangeness of 'choosing' it's all rather the same as using your own eggs.

I did worry a little about 'would I bond with her the way I did with my two other girls' and the answer is yes.. No difference whatsoever and I woukd do it all again in a heartbeat. Wishing you lots of love and luck, and feel free to message me again should you need too ❤️ xxx

[Wilma26 in reply to Lenni222]

thank you for replying. Ah so happy it finally worked for you and you got your baby girl. It’s just a gruelling process isn’t it. My husband isn’t keen at all and would happily never talk about Ivf ever again but I can’t help but still feel the massive want for another one.

Who did you use? We are looking at LWC London egg bank and it’s so expensive. I think I prefer the idea of having a frozen egg donor as opposed to a fresh one as there are less things that can go wrong but still can’t imagine flicking through the book. Did you choose on the closest match to yourself? Sorry if that’s a strange question xx

[Lenni222 in reply to Wilma26]

We used LWC and London Egg Bank also. They were expensive but definitely worth it in the end. Take a look at Access fertility if you do decide to give ahead. It's really simple to apply and can't hurt to see if you are eligible. Only problem is you do have to pay upfront for 3 cycles (I think) mine were also frozen .. I personally wasn't too keen on the idea of fresh (maybe because we had so many fail using my own fresh).We based our criteria mainly on the basics ethnicity, hair and eye color etc. It's funny though because now she has grown a little (she's 12 weeks Sunday) she really resembles my other two. They do say your dna is passed through the placenta etc.

I'm pretty sure though the egg bank offer a service where you can send a photograph of yourself and they try to match as best as possible looks wise, you woukd have to look into that though. I may have that lodged in my brain for somewhere else....

As I said before it was quite surreal reading through the profiles. I felt like I was on tinder or something lol. Maybe try having a read through some before you commit to really choosing just to get a feel for it?

You can sign up to the egg bank via their website and it really is very simple to use.

Best decision I ever made!

I did however find LWC quite unhelpful once I was finally pregnant. They were amazing at my local clinic in Brentwood and we used Harley Street for transfers etc. I found them to be quite pushy regarding extra scans etc and tried to get us to sign up for further packages etc. I just never got back in contact with them regarding it though. Last I heard from them was to fill out a form regarding babies birth etc (obviously for their statistics).

Honestly though, once you and your husband (hopefully) get your head around the weirdness of it all, it's a relatively easy process, albeit expensive!

The counciling you have to have beforehand is also not as scary as I thought it was going to be and actually made alot of sense.

Sorry I'm waffling on now..any other questions I'm always around. Lots of love ❤️

[katymcg]

hI! its a very difficult decision. we tried 2 rounds with own eggs, didn't get to transfer. we've taken alot of time to think about it, but now going to DE route. I think its your baby, you nature and grow that baby yourself, regardless where the egg started. lots of luck

[Positivepants]

Hi i was similar to you, stated late really and had one egg retrieval that resulted in 4 embryos of decent quality. transferred two and a BFN in 2020 ( i was 43) and then did a FET six months after and could only transfer one and again BFN. we moved to Donor eggs in Greece (Thessaloniki) in 2021 and had a transfer in Jan and BFN and then again another FET in October (i had lining issues in-between) and we have had our first ever positive, I'm currently 5W3D so surreal and praying i stay pregnant but to get this far is amazing as we have never had a positive. I am 46 in December and i know this was my best shot.

[IVFat43 in reply to Positivepants]

congratulations, that’s amazing and wish you all the luck for the next few months xx

[AnnieAnnie]

I currently have 4 beautiful gifts in the freezer from my sister who was my donor. I have been through 3 cycles myself and only got to transfer twice and nothing ever to freeze. Earlier this year, with the 11th year of ttc, never nhaving a bfp ad knowing I turn 39 this year, something inside of me said something has to change and hence the donor eggs. Currently on progynova (we were trying to do a mild medicated round) my body never plays nice but hoping next week my lining is now good enough this month

[IVFat43 in reply to AnnieAnnie]

that’s such a lovely thing! Good luck and hope all goes well xx

[Nicolab1]

Hi, my AMH is 0.6 I am nearly 42years, I have decided to go with my own eggs in Prague i start in March. I had my consultation I know the odds are against me the success rate is not great but I am not willing to give up on ME yet. I have a few test to get done before I start my treatment so she can look at at a protocol that suits me. You need to decide what is right for you everyone is different if DE is something you have been thinking about with your partner then look into it before you make your decision. This will be my last treatment and I am finished xx

[IVFat43]

Thank you for replying and wish you good luck Nicolab 1 with your journey. We took the plunge and are going with DE. Following all my tests in Spain, there was literally no point in me pursuing it with my own eggs. I’m happy now with the idea that if I’m growing and giving birth to the child, then one borrowed cell is just that! Due to start my cycle any day now. Excited and nervous 😊

[Sweethear in reply to IVFat43]

good luck wishing you all the best