Uk vs Europe for egg donation

[AbigailisPartiedOut]

After two failed rounds of ivf it now looks likely that I will need to use an egg donor as I'm not producing any eggs.

I am happy to go down the egg donor route and am leaning towards using a uk clinic as I'm not sure about how ethically a clinic in Spain or the Czech Republic source their eggs. However I am swayed by the cost and success rate of some clinics I've seen in Spain and we are running out of available funds. Also our clinic has a nine month waiting list.

Can anyone share their experiences either uk or abroad to help me in my decision? Thank you.

Sorry to hear about the failed IVF.

Can I recommend you check out the Donor Conception Network website? It’s a UK charity and has quite a lot to info about the subject (and also some courses/workshops if you think that might help you explore it further).
I actually had treatment in Spain and by the time I added in travel and accommodation I don’t think we spent any less, but that depends a bit on which airports/airlines you have nearby and if you travel at peak times or at short notice.

@PinkGold Thank you, I have had a look at their resources already.

AbigailisPartiedOut ·
Hi
Im 45 and have have 4 failed ivf cycles in the UK over the last two years. My issue was egg quality. After coming to the realisation it was either a donor egg or nothing, we opted for the donor route with IVI clinic in Madrid after coming across them with the second IVF clinic we went to.

We then decided to go direct to them as it was (a) cheaper and (b) I wanted the donor anonymity that they have under Spanish law.

Once the clinic started the search, it took about one week to find a donor in their bank. We we got 4 eggs that fertilised , all of which are 4AA/5AA grading and are now frozen. I had one embryo transferred 6 days ago and am now on the 2ww for my hcg test next week.

Re recruiting - We were advised that clinics in Spain do advertising campaigns in universities across Spain and the donors are either paid or receive money towards their studies.

We have been really impressed with IVI in Madrid. Our consultant has been great as has the whole clinic. My partner asked one of the junior consultants why she was working in Spain (she was German) and she said Spain clinics are the best in the world. I would recommend IVI in Madrid, we were impressed, but i can’t talk about other countries as we came straight to Spain. Hope this helps. Happy to answer any questions you may have. X

I'm not sure how any kind of egg sourcing could be ethical. Young women who've never had a baby giving up their future children and putting their own fertility at risk? Being tempted with money? None of that is ethical.

Women undergoing their own IVF who donate their eggs might be less ethically fraught, but you'll want to ensure that they have had a child already (because how awful if you gave birth to a child from their eggs but they never got that lucky) and you'll want to ensure that your future child will have knowledge of them so they can meet them in the future if they wish. And you'll want to ensure that they didn't 'donate' their egg in exchange for lower costs for their own IVF. Take the money completely out of the equation.

@Yummymummy555 Thank you for your reply and good luck for your tww. I think after talking to several clinics we are going to go with one in the Czech Republic.

You should consider how your children will have relationships with their biological family abroad. Half siblings, the donor, grandparents/cousins/aunts and uncles.

the UK made anonymous donation illegal for a reason; it is a human rights violation. Many clinics abroad still allow anonymous donation, please don’t use do this anonymously. The impact on your child being donor conceived will be significant already, but when the donor is anonymous it is even worse.

@Endomummy: do you have DE baby?

Hi, I agree with PinkGold who recommended a great source of info. You will also find best IVF clinics in Europe with their prices, waiting times, success rates on egg donation friends site. Hope this helps.

I personally trust the ethical policies of top Spanish fertility clinics. The leading Czech clinics follow the same high standards as those in the UK. You can find all relevant information, including legal details, here: egg donation in Spain and egg donation in Czech

You do realise that no "future" eggs are taken during the egg collection process? They cannot collect eggs that you wouldn't lose during that cycle anyway.

Apologies, just checked the dates on the thread and saw it from last year - didn't meant to reply to an old comment.

I'm not convinced this can be right - surely when they harvest eggs they stimulate the ovaries so lots are released at once? My SIL just had this done and they collected over 20. Besides, I think pp was referring to the risks inherent in egg collection and potential impact on future fertility rather than literally using future eggs.

Are you for real??

@InkHeart2024 unless my fertility doctor missed that day in medical school I am pretty sure it's right i had an egg collection earlier this year, and over the months I was having consultations, over the collection and in the follow up I was assured multiple times that no eggs are being taken from the future.