This is a guest post written by Heidi Hayes of Donor Egg Bank USA. If you’re looking into different fertility options including IVF using donor eggs, you will find this post very informative.
Nature can be a harsh mistress, and sometimes life just throws you a curveball. There’s no denying the fact that female human fertility drops with age, so by the time you hit 35, the biological clock is ringing like the bells of Notre Dame. For some women, that ringing may become a somber knell. By the time your life and career finally calm down enough that you’re ready to start a family, you are being told that your own eggs are no longer viable.
But that doesn’t have to be the end. This is perhaps a good time to consider IVF using donor eggs with donoreggbankusa.com. This article points out several things you need to know if you are considering using donor eggs.
Every story is unique
Even though the reasons to choose this method fundamentally stem from one place – troubles with fertility and the primal yearning for a family – each story and IVF experience is as unique as its participants. The reasons for infertility vary greatly, and every couple comes to this path from a different direction. One thing that is common among all those struggling with infertility is a plethora of mixed and confusing emotions.
Your emotions are normal and justified
Coping with the news that you won’t be able to carry a child to term with your own eggs means dealing with emotions like anger, fear, feelings of inadequacy and in more extreme cases, feelings of resentment towards your partner because they will still have a genetic connection with your future son or daughter. Some couples decide to use donor sperm as well to reconcile this. Professional help and counseling is advised throughout the process.
Ethical and legal concerns regarding disclosure and donor rights
Whether you decide to tell your child, or anyone else, about your use of donor egg is completely up to you. Some people choose to explain their child’s genetic origin in an age-appropriate way when their child is young, making this a part of their family story and expressing to your child just how much they were truly wanted.
When working with an egg bank, you do not have to worry about establishing a contract with your donor prior to moving forward. All donors will have already signed a document waiving all legal rights to any future children born from their donated eggs.
Donor pool
If using a fresh donor egg cycle, you will need to choose a donor who is local to your area, and who is available at a time that works for you. Couples using frozen donor eggs have a significantly wider pool of donors to choose from. You will be able to browse a national donor database and can search donors based on whatever criteria you find important: ethnicity, family history, interests, economic and educational background and/or physical characteristics. This can be a lengthy process as you and your partner should absolutely be on the same page about the donor.
Using fresh donor eggs
If you decide on using fresh donor eggs from a relative or a close friend the processes involves menstrual cycle synchronization between you and your donor using hormone therapy. Your donor’s ovaries will be stimulated to produce several eggs at once. Once retrieved, the eggs will be fertilized with your chosen sperm. The lab will culture the resulting embryos for a few days and will select one or two to be implanted in your uterus.
This method offers slightly better rates of developing a successful pregnancy but carries a significant financial burden.
Using frozen donor eggs
If you opt for cryopreserved donor eggs, the process is simpler than fresh donor eggs, since donor’s presence is not required for the procedure to take place. Once you choose your donor from the bank’s donor pool, the frozen eggs are retrieved from storage and shipped to your clinic. The eggs are then thawed and fertilized. After 3 to 5 days, the most suitable embryos are implanted in your uterus. There’s no need for menstrual cycle synchronization with additional hormone therapy.
The main advantage of this method is in that frozen eggs are more quickly and easily obtained and the process is cheaper since any medications required for the donor are already factored into the cost of a cycle.
The pregnancy test
After 2 weeks you will return to the clinic to take your pregnancy test. During this period, besides rest, the most important thing you and your partner have to do is to prepare yourselves for the outcome. With age, the risks are higher. Having a strong support group or professional counsel also helps immensely.
Bottom line
Advancing technologies in the field of IVF offer ever-greater success rates for women to fulfill their dream of forming a strong, stable and healthy family and enjoying the “motherhood experience” all the way from conception. It is up to you and your partner to make the choice that’ll make your dream a wonderful reality.
“Being a mother is an attitude, not a biological relation.”
― Robert A. Heinlein
