Tag Archives: what you need to know about egg donation

Egg donation – step by step

 

pregnancy-784671_640The advancement in the field of assisted reproduction for last decadeshas enabled numbers of infertile couples to enjoy having children. Methods such as In Vitro Fertilization show high probability of success in cases like blocked or damaged fallopian tubes, problems with ovulation and defects in sperm quantity, quality or mobility. In a regular IVF cycle egg cells retrieved from female patients are being combined with partners’ sperm in order to develop embryos. However, for many women the problem is not easily overcame with IVF technology whentheir oocytes lack the ability to be fertilized or for various reasons the quality of their cells or possible repercussions of using them in the procedure might cause the need of looking for other solution. In such cases the best option is an In Vitro Fertilization with egg donation that allows to bypass all the problems connected with patient’s ova. Here are a few things you need to know on how the process goes and what is most important from the beginning to the procedure.

  1. Diagnosis

First, the most important and often the most difficult stage is a diagnosis. Usually it is a year of unsuccessful attempts to conceive that is an indicator for stating the existence of infertility, however it might be also diagnosed much sooner as impairment of ovaries, malfunctions, diseases, infection or other factors are being diagnosed. Finding out might be emotionally hard but it is important not to give up on hope for procreation. Being properly diagnosed is a first step to treatment and recovery, and it is a huge step ahead comparing to dealing with undiagnosed infertility.

The diagnosis is usually carried throughout initial visits with examination. Medical screening and all the necessary laboratory tests allow to rule out some factors, state the possible cause of infertility and choose the right method of treatment, most suitable for particular case.

  1. Decision on the method

Being aware of the infertility just like in any medical condition means the necessity of deciding on the way how to get treated. Usually the doctors recommend going through the methods accordingly: from most natural and least invasive methods to more medically advanced, with IVF at the end. With properly diagnosed female infertility factor being an indication for In Vitro Fertilization with egg donation, this can be the first method of choice which allows to save time that is often of essence.

Experts in the IVF facilities serve with guidance and counselling on the topic of the procedure. With the help of the specialists patients can choose what is the most convenient for them – whether it is a complete egg donor cycle with exclusive donor, egg sharing or shared egg donor cycle. They can either select an IVF with fresh or frozen donor eggs, or have an implantation of frozen embryos which can come from embryo donation. Also the patients can choose the additional treatment options for example preimplantation genetic diagnosis or additional consultations and tests.

  1. Choice of clinic

Deciding on the procedure you need to pick the best clinic to ensure high quality and efficacy rate.  Nowadays the choice is almost unlimited when it comes to decision on countries and their facilities. Also there is a huge range of different options when considering various criteria. This is when specialised online services such as www.eggdonationfriends.com come to succour, facilitating the decision making. It contains all the necessary information about the egg donation itself, countries where the procedure is available, top clinics and choice of services they provide (for more info visit www.eggdonationfriends.com/egg-donation-clinics-ranking). You can search through the database of the facilities choosing the criteria important for you, compare particular places. Egg Donation Friends allows to pick the most suitable clinic for patients’ individual needs.

  1. Selection of donor

Some clinics reveals complete information about women donating their eggs, others provide patients with only basic information such as blood type, age, height or hair and eye colour. In every case the clinic is required to collect and share with patients full medical history of a donor and make sure she is healthy by carrying out thorough examination of a donor prior to a procedure.

Depending on domestic regulations of different countries and personal preferences of patients they can either decide on using ova from anonymous or known donor. This decision has important implications for the future of the family and possible relationship of a child with a donor. Both choosing anonymous or non-anonymous or even familiar donor has its own advantages. One way or another the donation should be based on the written agreement settling the rights and legal situation of the patients and donors.

Also the clinic sets out the rules of financial side the donation. For a young person becoming an egg donor can be very psychologically rewarding by setting a mission and enabling to help infertile couples in pursuit of parenthood. The financial retribution is only a part of the process in which donating a cell can make somebody else’s dream come true. The financial gratification needs to be treated more like a return on investing time and effort as well as incurring any expenses, not as a source of income. Also it is important to remember that the issue of legality of paying for an oocyte or any other cell is questioned in many countries and in some of them the donation needs to be absolutely gratuitous. The clinic usually provides a legal guidance and helps patients and donors to settle all the formal issues.

  1. Preparation and the procedure

When all the decisions are made the treatment begins. First part is an egg production where donor’s ovaries are stimulated to produce multiple eggs. The recipient is being medically prepared for embryo transfer and to support pregnancy.Then the donor eggs retrieval is carried out. Next step is the partner’s or donor’s sperm donation, followed by fertilization in IVF laboratory and embryos culturing. Then embryo or embryos are transferred into recipient’s uterus. At this time remaining embryos may be frozen in the process called criopreservation. To find out what is the outcome of the procedure there is a program verification and pregnancy testing.