I have been waiting patiently for Danny’s chromosomal results to come back. I also got the same testing done but have put myself in the "broken" category. Danny still has a chance. We decided that if his test results came back good then we'd peruse donor egg. The clinic called last Wednesday to tell me that they had Danny’s test results in. Stephanie, the young, attractive and very pregnant receptionist told me that the doctor would be calling me on Friday with our results. I waited and waited....I arranged someone to take over my class while I hid in the storage room and had a phone meeting with the doctor. When my phone buzzed and I answered it, it wasn't the doctor at all but a nurse who politely told me that all Danny’s results came back great and if I had any questions I could book an appointment with the doctor on Monday. That was it. Our fate had been decided in a 30 second phone call from that nurse. We did head to the clinic on Monday for a meeting in which she told us that our best shot at a healthy full term pregnancy would be to do donor egg. I had researched this a lot when I was off in February. I want to be a mother. But I am still floored that this procedure will cost us around 40 thousand dollars. Really? 40 thousand dollars.
I went on a women's retreat this weekend with a few women from my street. It was so much fun. On Saturday night we had dinner with three other ladies who live in the Halifax area. We got talking about children and I ended up telling them our story. One of the ladies gave me the name of this woman in this area that is a natural path and has had great success with infertility. So I called and I have an appt. on Tuesday. The initial cost is 140$. As the lady left the table she leaned over and whispered in my ear "Nothing is coincidence". Weird....maybe a little. I'm looking forward to hearing what the natural path says.
I’m looking for some feedback and advice from anyone out there who has been through the donor egg process. Especially those of you from Canada. Is CCRM everyone’s top choice? What about the Boston area? Financially how did you manage? How long of process is this? Did you get eggs to freeze?
WARNING: LONG POST...
ReplyDeleteMarnie,
First, congrats on Mya! She's adorable!
Glad Danny's results came back normal. I know I keep saying this, but I've been exactly where you are right now - my DH's tests all come back fine and it's my uterus that's the problem. It's like us eternally-challenged women get penalized for being born this way.
Have you considered cycling overseas? If you really think that the problem is just eggs vs a crappy ute, this may be an option worth considering. I cycled with Gennet in Prague (www.Gennet.CZ/en) and thought they were wonderful. I chose them because I knew two girls here locally who both found success there on their first try.
They are more expensive than Brno or Zlin, but I get the impression their service is much more personalized too. Also, you can fly right into Prague and
don't have the added expense and hassle of then traveling to another city. Another reason I selected them was because their donor pool was larger since they were in a larger city.
The cost for my cycle including international travel and hotels was about $15k. When I got a BFN (I suspect due to polyps returning), they put me at the top of the list and offered a repeat cycle with a new donor at cost (~$3,500 US, which included all her drugs).
What are you giving up?
1. Donor programs in CZ are 100% anonymous. You get no pictures (not even childhood) and VERY BASIC info - age, height, weight, hair/eye color, if she has kids, and a general profession (e.g. - secretary or student). They do ask for a medical history and will not accept girls into the program who have things concerning in their backgrounds, but you do not receive a detailef medical history. As I recall, they do test for some of the genetic abnormalities, but no where as extensive as CCRM.
IMHO, Czech women are some of the most beautiful in the world. Many are tall, thin, blue eyes, fair skin and light hair. Even the older women have terrific complexions, figures and are stunning.
2. They do not stim girls there as hard as they do here, so it's unlikely you'll have any frosties. We left frozen sperm sample (originally intended to be the backup for our first cycle) - so when we cycled a 2nd time, DH did mot have to return.
3. The center is immaculate and the technology there is certianly advanced, but is no doubt behind a place like CCRM. On the other hand, many, many women have found success with them at a fraction of the cost of a DE cycle in the US.
They don't have CCS / PGD testing, but when I cycled at CCRM with a 24 yo donor, DR S said don't do CCS testing because the chances if there being an abnormal in young donors is so low that it's not worth spending the money.
Now, I did a DE cycle at CCRM too and can confidently say they are the closest thing to a sure bet you're going to get. I highly recommend their in-house donor program because all the girls are pre-screened before they make it to the database (so less chance for something to fall through once you've secured your donor).
My DE cycle was unbelieveable - 42 mature follicles, 28 retrieved, 17 made it to 5d embryos - so we had PLENTY of frosties and will likely never have to secure another do or. I did get a BFP my first cycle, but still m/c before seeing a HB (so there're still no guarantees). Since then, I tested positive for a blood clotting disorder.
Just completed a FET on 3/18 (they added lovenox this time) and we saw two beautiful HB's last Friday!
So, if you are willing to risk a lesser amount of money for a chance at success and can live with the limitations I described above, I might consider Prague.
If you have other questions, feel free to email me at flygirl555@gmail.com.
If you want the "almost" sure thing and money is less of a concern, I'd opt for CCRM.
A fellow Canuck here and a DE expecting momma! I went through 3 attempts before finding success. First we used an international company and we travelled to the donor. We did 2 FET's (totalling $32,000) with that donor as we had some major complications. Our second (and last chance) was with Shady Grove in Washington, DC. They offer a money back guarantee program. 6 fresh and all FET's and if no LIVE baby at the end all your money back (minus travel and your own meds) for $29,000 US.
ReplyDeleteWe absolutely loved this idea as this left us money to try again (if unsuccesful) or to start the adoption process. We actually were successful on our first attempt with Shady and are expecting a little girl in July. We still have one frostie left over to try again.
With the shared risk we opted to do a 3:1 program for $29,000 which means it is one donor split with 3 couples. So you do get less eggs to play with but they do ensure they are using only donors that produce for the 3:1 program. The other thing I liked is that you can opt out at any time and get your money back.
I hope this helps you in your decision process.
I would have loved to have gone to CCRM but because we already had 2 failures under our belt, I wasn't a highly acceptable patient, and they are really expensive and you don't necessarily end up with a lot more frosties there, so...
I hope this helps a bit. Please feel free to message me at my blog if you have any questions.
All my best to you!
Teacher...I don't know how your posts got past me as I follow your blog. I just found out about this amazing DE program out of Atlanta...check it out?!! Its $16,500 US (meds incl.) and comes with a LIVE BABY GUARANTEE!!!
ReplyDeleteCheck out...http://www.myeggbank.com/donor-eggs/index.php.
I know I would have a year ago!!