How many attempts with donor eggs?

[ohbigdaddio]

Hi all, DH and I are considering donor eggs after several failed IVF attempts with my eggs. l have struggled badly with each failed transfer and am unsure about putting myself through anything again but I'd like to do the research so we can make an informed decision.

lf you have used donor eggs and been successful, how many eggs did you buy and how many became embryos? We would be buying 6 eggs which I worry isn't enough!

And if you don't mind sharing how many attempts it took you to get pregnant, or if you didn't get pregnant, l would really appreciate it. We've been told all sorts by various consultants - success rates from 80% to 30% - l don't know who to believe so thought I would ask some real people!

Thanks in advance x

[Lauren83]

I have a donor conceived baby, we didn't use a frozen egg bank though and used a fresh donor each time, we had 24 eggs in total that resulted in 1 baby and 4 frozen that haven't been used

1st cycle - egg share - negative
4 eggs
4 mature
4 fertilised
2 transferred
0 to freeze

2nd cycle - exclusive - miscarriage
11 eggs
7 mature
5 fertilised
2 transferred
2 to freeze

3rd cycle - exclusive - live birth
9 eggs
7 mature
6 fertilised
2 transferred fo
2 to freeze

[Persipan]

So, I've had:

Fresh egg-share donor, 4 eggs, 2 fertilised, day 2 double transfer, didn't work

Fresh egg-share donor, 6 eggs, 2 fertilised (I think that came down to the sperm, though; I believe the donor's half did much better!), day 5 single blastocyst transfer, no success, nothing to freeze

Frozen eggs, paid for 6 but actually got 8 because apparently if they have a random number they just chuck the extra ones in for free, 6 fertilised, four in the freezer, single blastocyst transfer on day 5, currently 8+5 weeks and fingers crossed it continues to go well.

So I guess you can never tell - it's all a gamble still, and things can unexpectedly work or not work in very different ways to whatever you go in expecting!

[Eggcellent29]

Egg share - 6 eggs, 5 fertilised, double 3 day transfer ended in missed miscarriage.

1 frozen, currently pregnant.

Although I would warn - I am in my 20s so was told this increases success rates considerably

[EarlGreyT]

We didn’t use an egg bank either and used fresh donor eggs, but FETs each time.

Cycle 1 (exclusive donor),
11 eggs, 7 fertilised, 5 made it to day 5 and all frozen (this is the standard practice of the clinic).

1st transfer of 2 blastocysts resulted in 1 baby.

We then got greedy and decided to try for a sibling thinking we’d cracked it with donor eggs...
Transfers 2 (of 1 blastocyst) and 3 (of the 2 remaining blastocysts) both failed with negative test and a chemical.

Cycle 2 (different exclusive donor), 10 eggs, 6 fertilised and 3 made it to day 5 and have been frozen.
Haven’t yet had a transfer from this cycle, but gearing up for it.

[Cantdoright1]

We had an exclusive donor, 20 eggs. 11 were blasts at day 5. We transferred 1 and I have a 1 year old boy. We have 5 left in freezer as the clinic dismissed the other 6 saying they weren't worth freezing. I have an own egg child so have carried already but my eggs had got old. My husband is sub fertile so we used donor sperm too. Our embryos seem good but both donors were under 28 and no issues so they should be. I feel confident our 5 remaining embryos would be successful if we had the money to use them.

2 of my friends had 6 donor egg transfers to get their child on their last try.

I think the sperm is just as important as the egg so really investigate the quality of the sperm.

Good luck

[Cantdoright1]

Should have said our treatment was in the UK.

[JeNeBaguetteRien]

Hi ohbig I haven't had donor egg treatment yet but have had a consultation with IVI in Alicante about the possibility.
They have said waiting a few months is easier when it's donor eggs as me being a few months older is not as important when it's not my eggs, so if that thought gives you some breathing space bear it in mind.

@Persipan congratulations, have been a long time admirer of your sensible advice and compassion to others, hope it all goes smoothly.

[Persipan]

Awww, thanks, Baguette!

[ohbigdaddio]

Thanks everyone, lots of useful info here.
Lauren83 so glad you got your baby in the end! 3 cycles with donor eggs must have been so tough...really need to think long and hard about if I'm up to it or not.

[Cutesbabasmummy]

Persipan yay yay yay! Amazing news x

[Cutesbabasmummy]

Ok so we had ours at IVI Alicante. Had ten eggs. 8 defrosted. At day three we were down to 5. Had a day three transfer and did not get pregnant. Two made it to day 5 she were frozen. Second time we had one of the frozen day 5 embryos put in. He's just had his first week at school xx

[ohbigdaddio]

Cutebabasmummy that's lovely!

[nuckyscarnation]

We had treatment at New Life In Thessaloniki.

Exclusive donor (they don’t do shares cycles there) 13 eggs retrieved from which we got six five day blasts. I had a frozen transfer rather than fresh. I was lucky enough to get a bfp and now have year old twins (we had two transferred)
We also still have four embryos in the freezer

They are an amazing clinic. I couldn’t recommend them highly enough.

[EMR34]

We are with IVI Barcelona, the donor pulled out in August.

Do you have any experiences with Barcelona to share?

[Tipsylizard]

Cycle 1 - fresh...9 embryos...5 made it to Blast. Two put back. Two frozen. Conceived my son.

Cycle 2 - frozen...2 embryos defrosted and put back. Conceived my daughter.

[Angliski]

Slightly different. We used frozen eggs and frozen spent in Prague. They made 6 healthy embryos so we didn't have any of the uncertainty you have with an expensive fresh cycle.

Worked first time. 28 weeks pregnant.

We also ha d a lot of sad ivf experiences prior to this. Wish we had started donor earlier really.

Pm me if I can help more. Good luck OP!