Using donor eggs abroad

[LucyEmme]

Hi there. I completed my 2nd IVF in Dec 2023,which ended awfully. None of the embryos made it past day 3. We were absolutely devastated, and were told that the only way to achieve pregnancy would be through using donor eggs. That was a very hard pill to swallow, but I had already decided I wouldn't put myself through another round of IVF,knowing the causes of the failures were the quality of my eggs.

We have started looking at clinics in Greece and Prague because we can't afford a donor IVF in this country.

As there are so many to choose from,I would really appreciate any advice/experience you have had using donor eggs abroad,and if there are clinics you have used,and had success from them,I would love to hear from you via private message.

Thank you in advance.

[Orangeflowers]

Hello, no experience yet, but doing donor eggs in Prague soon. I had a recent post on here if you look at my profile re clinics in Prague. All the best x

[treezuk]

we have DE twin boys from a greek clinic i will pm you.

[Goldy23]

yip, we used donor eggs and were successful first time. Quality of my eggs was also the issue. We used a clinic in Spain. They were amazing! I’m now 20 weeks. Feel free to private message me xx

[Doodlebug23]

No success yet, but using a clinic in Spain who I 💯 recommend 😊

[Nakijo]

Hi lucyEmme at 37 I think you are still young and can try again.. What was the basis of the Dr. telling you that you will need donor eggs? What was your AMH level?

[Kilk22 in reply to Nakijo]

I second this 👆🏼…you are still young, how did the doctor come to the conclusion it was an egg quality issue? Have you done many rounds of ivf? Has your partner had the dna fragmentation test done? Has there been any change in protocol? The fact your eggs are fertilising and getting to day 3 means something , I wouldn’t give up on your own just yet. X

[LucyEmme in reply to Kilk22]

The 1st time on the short protocol I ended up with 2 poor quality embryos and was clear it was because of my egg quality. 2nd time I was on the long protocol, responded much better,yet only ended up with 6 mature,3 fertilising normally. 2 didn't get past day 1 and the other stopped at day 3. No he hasn't had a dna fragmentation as we were told his sperm came back in normal parameters. He will be doing one if/when we go ahead with DE. As much as I would love to use my own eggs,I know mentally I can't go through the whole process again. And if it wasn't to work for a 3rd time,we would have no money left to consider donor eggs.

[Kilk22 in reply to LucyEmme]

i completely understand. I was in your situation too. It’s a very tough journey, financially and emotionally. The hurt and devastation after a failed cycle is just heart wrenching. I would say to you though , definitely get the dna frag test done BEFORE you make your next decision. A semen analysis is not enough to give the sperm the all clear. It’s not detailed enough. My exs analysis was all perfect UNTIL we did the dna frag test. My eggs were completely at fault until this. I don’t have good quality eggs at all but this combined with dna frag sperm, there was very very little hope. I have since had two successful pregnancies (1 little boy and 1 embryo that spilt in to twins , unfortunately the twins didn’t make it but that was nothing to do with quality, a different matter ). Also I decided to go it alone and used donor sperm. AND I’m a lot older than you.

Just my advice, get the test done and see then, there’s lots that both of ye can do to improve quality (supplements, lifestyle change, acupuncture etc ) if you haven’t already done so. Weigh up the options then x I hope whatever decision you make, you become a mammy 🫶🏼

[Itisajourney in reply to Kilk22]

I totally agree with this comment. My embryos also didn’t past day 3 and when this happens the sperm is the most likely cause, as it was in our case.

[LucyEmme in reply to Itisajourney]

Both times they used IVF as the sperm looked OK for the test they did do. But we will be getting a dna fragmentation test when we go to a different clinic. Unfortunately I know mentally I can't go again with my own eggs. The last round put me in a really bad place mentally. But we will be getting a 2nd opinion anyway.

[Itisajourney in reply to LucyEmme]

The best luck for you! It is definitely devastating and affect all areas of your life. I try to put my mind into the target and try to not focus too much at the present moment. Keep strong and you are going to make it

[WanderingWonder in reply to LucyEmme]

Hi LucyEmme i completely understand how you feel, but just wanted to add that we had multiple sperm analysis on the NHS (were told partner had way above average quality sperm), then we had two private analyses and found borderline morphology issues (so was told up to now that I was probably the issue) and we recently had a specific DNA fragmentation test and found significant issues - we are now working on improving the quality of our eggs and sperm for a few months with supplements and diet and also looking into acupuncture before making any major moves.

DE are an option you have a little more time to pursue (my auntie had success with DE in Cyprus at the age of 49!) so it might be worth giving yourselves some time to process.

Wishing you all the best!

[CXCYCZ]

I used a clinic in Spain. They have been really good. Can’t fault them. Recommended by a fertility consultant in the uk. Currently successful but a few months to go still. There have been plenty of success stories on here with people using clinics abroad, Spain, Greece etc.

I went over to the clinic before I had any treatment. I had met some of the team by Skype but meeting them in person and seeing the clinic gave me confidence in my decision. So once you have narrowed it down I would suggest you have a visit, to check out the clinic but also familiarise yourself with the travel and city so when you do go over for transfer that element of stress is removed.

Wishing you all the best in the next stage.