Timescales/planing for donor egg IVF

[Koala82]

Hi everyone,

This is my first post on mumsnet.

I’m 41 with a premature ovarian failure diagnosis. I’ve never ttc or been pregnant before. My partner are considering donor egg ivf in the next couple of years.

At this point I’m wondering how long the process takes, from that initial consultation to first round of ivf? I appreciate every clinic is different but just looking for a rough idea of what to expect at this point. We would be going through Glasgow royal who pair up with institute bernabeau.

Any info would be great :-)

I didn’t go straight to donor eggs but did use Instituto Bernabeu Madrid so can give you some ideas of timescales in Spain.

You and your partner need blood tests to rule out some infectious diseases and to confirm your blood type.

For over 40 they require a mammogram and they usually require an up to date smear test (they charged €40 for the smear and arranged a local breast screening appointment, can’t remember the cost, maybe €200). I had a private mammogram in the UK previously, I think it was about £250.

They would want a sperm analysis.

You decide what level of genetic compatibility testing to be down with the donor(some basic things are included).

IB in Spain require you to do a mock cycle so they can see how your body responds to the medication. They also did a mock transfer to check for any issues.

You can decide whether to leave a frozen sperm sample there or if your partner will be there on egg retrieval day.

I would say if you’re starting treatment in Spain you could be at embryo transfer stage within about 10-12 weeks from the point that you say start. I wouldn’t rush into it but if you decide you’re ready as you’ll ever be (having researched donor conception) then good luck and don’t wait beyond then because the process feels like it takes a while and as with any IVF there are no guarantees so you may want time out between cycles if they are unsuccessful.

I don’t know if you’re opting for treatment in Glasgow or Spain but I would suggest you think carefully and look into the pros and cons of treatment in the UK and abroad. In the UK donor identity will be possible to know in the future which I think is a big advantage. In Spain it is anonymous by law. (For other reasons Spain was still our choice).

You might find some information on the Donor Conception Network.

Hi pinkgold, thank you so much for your reply.

I assume a lot of these tests, mammograms, smears, blood tests can be done in the UK?

Earlier on in the year I had a vaginal ultrasound and endometrial biopsy on the NHS. I hope I don’t have to do these again (especially the biopsy which was horrible!) . My partners sperm has been tested and found to be normal.

We are in Scotland and Glasgow Royal would be our nearest clinic.

Re donor egg IVF in the UK, I thought the waiting lists were very very long? I’ll be 42 next month and I’ve set my own cut off of 45!

Is there anything I can do now to prepare I wonder, like diet, vitamins? I normally give blood every 6 months so I’m guessing that will need nocked on the head as I will need my iron.

When you say you can choose the level of genetic testing, what do you mean please? Is that like hair, eye colour etc? What are the different levels?

Thank you again :-)

Hi there,

Yes the tests could be done in the UK but if you happen to be going to Spain for a consultation the tests are usually cheaper there and the clinic organises them. I’ve done both as I had years of own egg fertility treatment before moving to donor eggs.

I’ve never had an endometrial biopsy (that sounds painful) but have lost count of the vaginal ultrasounds by now!

I think any clinic would want to run their own sperm analysis and when we had treatment at IB they did extra genetic tests on the sperm to see if DH carried genes for some hereditary conditions - that’s what I mean about the levels of testing, I think there were 3 levels of testing they could do out of a long list of health conditions; the results would be compared with the egg donor to avoid some conditions. I can’t remember now the long list but it was like a bronze, silver, gold level, they didn’t call it that but essentially it was 3 tiers.

Regarding the hair colour, eye colour etc of the donor we weren’t given those details (some clinics do).
We had to provide several photos for the donor matching team to use, face on, side profile and a list of our physical characteristics to match and how important (or not) they were.

I don’t know if the egg donor lists are very long in Scotland, you could ask and then you’ll know. I’ve seen on these boards some women buying eggs from the London Egg Bank, which I know is far from Glasgow but they might ship the eggs (or you might prefer Spain but ask about UK options if it interests you to compare and make an informed choice).

In terms of vitamins I’d suggest take a good multivitamin, and omega 3 and vitamin D and folic acid before starting, your partner could do the same (but maybe folic acid not needed for him). I’ve heard magnesium is good for sperm but he may not need it and I don’t know if there’s any scientific basis or it’s another thing I have just read somewhere over the years.

If you end up with more questions I will try to answer, I don’t know specifically about diet, just generally healthy is probably okay but people can (understandably) become quite extreme about taking supplements and eating very healthily and avoiding caffeine etc as there is a lot you can’t control on an IVF journey and diet is something you can. It’s not ideal to be very under or over weight for conceiving. Also thyroid levels are important but they’ll check that in your blood tests.
You have a bit of time before your cut off, if you get to a stage where you’re both ready to start it is an intense experience but amazing the possibilities that science can offer.

We did donor egg ivf in the uk. All the tests you have had previously are generally transferable but need to have been done within the last 12 months, otherwise things are out of date.

The process I went through. Was I researched and spoke to a few different clinics whom specialise in donor ivf. Once we had agreed on which clinic to use we got our medical notes and test results released from the clinic we had unsuccessful ivf at and sent through to the new clinic. Once they had these we had a video appointment with the new consultant to discuss our options, I think this wait was about 3-4 weeks. Then a video appointment with a counseller a week or so later to make sure we completely understood the process and implications.

We then paid to be placed on the donor egg wait list. And filled in a form detailing what characteristics (hair colour, eye coulor, complexion, height, weight, education level etc) we prefered the donor to be. We went with a fresh donation. I was advised at this point it might take around 3-6 months to be matched with a donor. But after a week we had a match and were sent some basic information about the donor and we consented.

It then took 2 months to commence the cycle as we needed to match my cycle and the donors cycle up so we were in sync. Prior to the donor having egg collection you take medication to thicken the lining of the womb and have to go for scans to check the lining is looking suitable. The donor then has egg collection and husband gives a sperm sample. And after 5 days the embryo was implanted.

We paid to go on the wait list in July and the embryo was transfered at the start of Nov.

We now have 17 month old twins!

Thanks so much for the detailed response.

There is a crazy amount of information to get our heads round. It’s quite overwhelming. Thanks for the suggestion re London egg bank :-) I would prefer to stay in the UK if possible.

Hi @Donimo would you mind sharing which clinic you used and why. Interested in what you said about clinics that specialise in donor ivf as we haven’t really found any. Donor ivf seems to be an afterthought for most (which makes sense given how relatively rare it is). Oh and congratulations on your twins!

@Sunshinebytheseaside they don't actually specialise as such but they seems to have thought about packages and do a lot of donor treatments. We used nurture fertility

Thanks for your reply @Donimo