US Egg Donor Programs

[sunny]

My husband and are I seriously considering Seattle or Denver for egg donor ivf. Does anyone have any feedback about the clinics/process? Any info or advice would be greatly appreciated!

[mkap]

We did a donor egg cycle at the SRM clinic in Seattle. We were quite pleased with how easy the process was. We did all of our consultation meetings (doctors, social workers, donor nurses) over the phone. Then we had to go down to Seattle for one trip to sign all the paper work, pay deposit and to measure the transfer catheter needle. Then all of my monitoring and testing was done at my local clinic. I flew down the morning of my transfer, had my transfer at noon and was able to take an afternoon flight home. The only complaint about the donor programs is the number of donors available. They make it sound like there is a ton of choice, but when it came down to it, we really only had a choice of a few donors. Of course it depends how long you are willing to wait, as many of the donors are already booked for cycles or time-off in between cycles. We were in a rush to get going, so we didn't want to wait the extra months for a particular donor. My other complaint relates to my local clinic. The communication between the clinics regarding my daily testing results was often a challenge - SRM would be waiting for the results to give me updates on my drugs or the donors drugs and they would have a hard time getting hold of the right people at my local clinic. Hopefully they are getting better at that now. Overall the process was quite simple. I am due in 2 weeks, so we are obviously happy with the positive result too!

[HopefulCalg]

We're just back from Denver. We don't know what the result will be (heartiest congrats, mkap!!), but I can definitely speak to the experience. Overall we're very happy with the process although I can echo mkap with some glitches between the clinic here handling our tests, etc. and getting the results to Colorado. It took 6 months from the time of registering until they found a donor for us (one presented at a time anonymously as we wanted). We took the first one who is very promising. Another couple of months to synch up on the cycles and now we're waiting for the pregnancy test.

The nurses who handled our file were great. Very approachable and responsive to our questions and concerned. I liked our doctor too, Gustafson, who was reassuring and upbeat.

We both went to Colorado for a work up last fall (overnight trip). The second trip took 11 days, not sure why longer than Seattle. I had more tests when we arrived and we had a consult with the doc. Back 3 days later for retrieval/fertilization. Back for Day 5 (told that it could be Day 3 or 5 and wouldn't know until after they saw how the embryos were doing) for the transfer. They wanted us to stay there for a couple of more days to make sure everything was okay. I had bedrest for day of transfer and the next day. Up and moving around after that and the day after we flew home. We didn't need another visit to the clinic after the transfer but I did like being nearby in case there were problems.

They're down to 4 months now between sign up by recipients and matching donors.

Colorado has a pretty good website with details re success rates. If you google Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine it comes up (sorry I don't have the address handy). With 2 embryos at Day 5 transfers, the numbers are 80 to 85% success rate. Frozen embryos on transfer are somewhere around 80% success rate (better process there now).

Hope this helps. Best of luck with your decision.

[sunny]

Thank you both for sharing your experiences and providing some hope. I have been reading about the shared risk program, paying a sum up front for the series of transfers, with a portion of your funds returned if the program is not successful. Were you able to participate in the program or do you know how one is considered for the program? Thanks again for any info you have.

[HopefulCalg]

We didn't know about the shared risk program. Interesting concept. Today we got a cheque for $2600 US from Colorado for the "Canadian discount". News to us that there was such a discount but happy to have the funds.

[HopefulCalg]

Happy to share news that the donor program worked for us and we are now expecting twins due January 2010! We're over the moon that it worked. Have finished/graduated from Colorado and now in the care of my GP until I see the OB in October. Word this a.m. at the doctor's was that things were fantastic in the pregnancy. We feel very lucky to have this work out.

All good wishes to you.

[Leslie]

Happy to share news that the donor program worked for us and we are now expecting twins due January 2010! We're over the moon that it worked. Have finished/graduated from Colorado and now in the care of my GP until I see the OB in October. Word this a.m. at the doctor's was that things were fantastic in the pregnancy. We feel very lucky to have this work out.

All good wishes to you.

YAY! I'm so happy for you, HopefulCalg. Thanks so much for sharing your experience. Wishing you an uneventful remaining few (YIKES!) months.

Leslie

[Tetley]

That is such fabulous news!!! Congrats! Please keep us posted throughout the pregnancy so we can share in all the details!!!

[HopefulCalg]

The best intentions seemed to fly out the window! Sorry about the failure to communicate for so long. We are very happy to announce that our twin boys arrived safe and sound on December 12, 2009. They arrived at 33 weeks, early but healthy. After some weeks in the NICU we brought them home in January and they're flourishing now. Just passed 12 pounds in weight for earch, smiling and a lot of fun. They are also sleeping through the night most of the time now which is just heavenly for us.

It has been interesting to see how the boys are developing, knowing that half their genetic code is from the donor in Colorado. The boys are dead ringers for their Dad--the big debate now is which one looks more like him with votes on both sides. A good friend of mine told me that one of their smiles is just like mine--such an interesting thought if the smile is genetic or learned. Her comment warmed my heart.

Despite being older (now 46) I've made an excellent recovery and am generally quiet about the fact that I lost all the baby weight and an extra 20 pounds that I was packing on. I feel better than I have in years.

My husband and I are thrilled to pieces that this has worked out for us. CCRM in Denver and the fertility clinic here made these little miracles possible.

We wish everyone the best.