Assisted conception advice please - Donor eggs and all that shizzle

[TeamEdwardsSparklyBaubles]

A close friend had her ovaries removed as a teen.
Now in her 30's and in a long term relationship, her and her fiancee have been referred to the assisted fertility clinic, but have been warned they are "in for a rocky ride" by their GP.

She will need a donor egg, but has been told she should be able to carry a pregnancy to term, with a C section delivery.

Has anyone have any experience of this? I want to be able to help her as much as possible (I'm her only friend with babies, so she often asks me for advice).

bump

(unlike my friend )

bumpity bump

One of my sisters has twins from donor eggs - she has her ovaries, but she was made sterile by cancer treatment, also as a teenager. If your friend also had cancer then there may be a question about whether her body will or will not be able to develop all the right blood vessels and things to sustain the pregnancy - I know there was with my sister, though actually it was fine; I think it also depends on when in adolescence the treatment took place, and how aggressive it was.

She got the IVF on the NHS, and luckily it worked first time; she was in her early thirties, and the pregnancy was straightforward, no problems despite the medical history.

I have had a baby by C-section and now we are on the waiting list for a donor egg at a Care Fertility Clinic. There are several Care Clinics and I would recommend ours.

I guess it depends where your friend lives and also whether or not she can get treatment on the NHS or not. We are not eligible for NHS treatment. I don't know anything specific about fertility treatment after cancer so your friend will need lots of expert advice but if she is already linked to a fertility clinic she should be able to get advice there.

Maybe it will be a rocky ride but if she has some counselling and help and support, hopefully she will get there. I know that the prospect of having treatment with donor eggs for us is now very exciting, having waited a long while for it I am very eager for it to happen very soon. Sometimes the waiting time can be quite long, and if the treatment fails they may go back to the beginning of the waiting list. If it is a viable option, to be on the waiting list at more than one clinic, I would recommend it. I am not sure how it works in the NHS system but in the private system you pay about £500 and go on the waiting list. If your friend can afford to go on the waiting list at more than one clinic, it means if one lot of treatment fails and she wants to try again she would not have to wait so long.

I think in order to support your friend best maybe just give her time to talk about it with you - as I am sure you will.

Feel free to ask me about C-section or donor eggs. All the best for your friend's treatment; whenever it happens, I hope it will all go really well.

Thank you for sharing your stories .

She has a chromosomal abnormality which resulted in late but accelerated puberty and the a cancer as aresult of this.
She's been all clear since she was 18, and the Drs think she would be able to grow a baby.
She's really concerned about the wait though. They have been referred on the NHS so far, and don't have a lot of money, but a baby is priceless eh?

Hi again, the only thing I would say about the costs (although, of course agreeing that a baby is priceless) is that it is best to check out all the facts.

If your friend is in her thirties and eligible for NHS treatment I would find out all the facts and waiting times. She can always call private clinics and find out details. Some, if not all, NHS clinics may not accept patients after a certain age and other factors, like if you have a baby/child already, may come into effect. So, for example, if she went privately and then later wanted another child or wanted to try again with the NHS would she still be eligible? Maybe yes, I don't know. Just worth checking before deciding. Best to find out costs, our treatment is costing us in excess of £5,000 in the UK. All the best to her.