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Infertility

Egg Donation Emotion

40 replies

ringo65 · 31/05/2013 12:51

Hi

Yesterday my DH & I were told following lots of tests that the best chance of us conceiving was to look at egg donation.
I am 39 and it appears that all things are pointing towards the fact that my body has started that menopause journey...we have been trying for a long time so it was upsetting to learn that the best chances are egg donor.

I am feeling positive today about it, but I am worried that I would forever be thinking that's really not my baby, although I know that I would be nurturing the baby in my womb and really it is my baby just genetically it isn't...but its a thought at the back of my head - its very hard to explain.

Are these natural thoughts and has anybody else been down this road and had these worries before hand, will they pass once I am pregnant?

Thank you, I'm a bit mixed up. x

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colafrosties · 03/11/2013 19:55

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KosherBacon · 03/11/2013 11:19

There is a group called the donor conception network. They have national meetings but also local groups too. Check out their website and books.

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kittycatmum · 03/11/2013 10:40

Hi I don't think I'm in the right thread but hopefully someone can point me in the right direction. I would love to talk to other women who have children via donor eggs. I have two year old twins whom I adore but sometimes I do struggle a bit with the genetics issue etc. I would love to see how other people think as I don't know anybody else in my situation. Many thanks x

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KosherBacon · 02/11/2013 21:27

Ringo65- Congratulations, that is wonderful news, I hope you have a happy, healthy pregnancy and baby.

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colafrosties · 28/10/2013 20:26

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ringo65 · 24/10/2013 14:38

Haven't been on for a while, thank you for all the lovely messages.

To update you all we had 2 embryos transferred on 27th Sept, the donor Care found we were happy with. I tested positive on Sun 13th Oct..4 days later I had a lot of bleeding...which calmed down, but Monday it came back with a vengeance and we ended up in A&E, the clots and dripping blood was horrendous, the consultant told us there was nothing in my uterus following a tummy scan.

Today we were at Care for a review and an internal scan..it turns out that I may have been carrying twins and one miscarried and although only tiny a little heartbeat was seen. I'm 6w1d today and we are over the moon x

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resipsa · 12/08/2013 07:49

We're waiting for a match at Care in Manchester. Thank you for your great post!

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KosherBacon · 11/08/2013 20:56

I have a ten month old DS following donor egg treatment at Care in Manchester. We had treatment due to a genetic condition I had rather than infertility.

I can honestly say it was the best decision I have made. I love my son so much. Sometimes I look at him and my heart bursts. He's amazing, I grew him in my tummy, I breastfed him, I nurtured him and played with him and made him the personality he is today. We chose a donor with similar physical characteristics to me, yet he came out just looking like his daddy. People at work tell me he has my eyes and nose. I don't tell everybody, close friends and family know, but not every Tom dick and Harry needs to know.

Yes, I sometimes think about his donor and the half sibling she had from her treatment. For me that was why I chose to have treatment in the uk. It was our decision as parents to use donor eggs but it should be entirely out sons decision to find out more about his donor and we shouldn't take that away from him. We used donor eggs when there was a waiting list for recipients rather than donors to be matched and we could have gone abroad for quicker treatment, but decided against it for this reason.

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FreckleyGirlAbroad · 03/08/2013 18:05

Ringo, have just read your thread and was wondering how things were going and did you accept the donor? Fwiw, I was exactly the same age as you when I found out my FSH levels were too high and AMH way too low to conceive using my eggs so we didn't hesitate in going forward with ed conception. I'm now 31 weeks pregnant, with the occasional wobbly moment, but just living every minute of the kicking and wriggling going on inside me and feel immensely lucky and grateful.

Try having a look at epigenetics online as it shows you a while different side to the DNA debate.

Best of luck and pm me if you want any further advice.

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candleyes54 · 03/08/2013 07:21

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JT2013 · 18/07/2013 22:21

Thanks colafrosties, congratulations to you and ringo65.
x

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colafrosties · 15/07/2013 22:41

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JT2013 · 14/07/2013 00:29

Hi ringo65

I read your post nodding my head- I'm 39 and I've just been told my AMH/FSH levels make it near impossible for me to have a biological child. Partner has low sperm count too so really not great. The consultant I saw recommended DE ICSI and although I had doubts, they've gone. I don't know whether I'm fooling myself but the need to be a mother is so all consuming. I'd love to have a child that was related to me and my family but (assuming I'm lucky enough for it to work) it'll be my partner's biological child and I'm told that it's only men that have that primal need to procreate women are programmed to nurture (told this by a new age acupuncturist, but it seems to make sense)

Sorry, I've just realised I hijacked your post but I just wanted to ask Opheliabump, colafrosties and Pocket1 how many attempts they had before they fell pregnant?

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ringo65 · 06/07/2013 14:21

Hi all

Since I last posted a lot has happened, I am on the page of ED and thanks to all your help I really appreciate it. I have no friends or family that have been through this so knowing I am not alone is a massive help.

We went back to CARE for a chat with their counselor and then spent about 4 hours with the nurse, 4 hours we were there in total, but I felt so much better after...we discussed how it works and was promptly put on the list...this was 20th June and yesterday I got a call to say they have found a match!

I cannot believe it, I feel very lucky at the moment as I know some ladies have been waiting a long time and I expected the same, DH & I are mulling it over this weekend...the genetics are a goodish match, more of DH than me...which I think I am happy with.

This is only the beginning and for me it has been like a whirlwind the time of finding out I cannot have children to this point has been fast, and no treatment has been had yet not IVF or anything, CARE are concerned that this is all too quick and want to make sure I am ready as I have not had long to get used to the idea.

I am counting my blessings and I so hope that it all works out okay as this is only the beginning of the journey and I know a lot of heartache and anxiety is yet to come.

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ringo65 · 02/06/2013 10:34

Thank you colafrosties xx

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colafrosties · 01/06/2013 23:44

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colafrosties · 01/06/2013 23:35

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Sharksandfishes · 01/06/2013 11:03

I also donated and echo what 5madthings says. As far as I'm concerned, I gave a cell, and everything else was up to the mother.
My donation was known and I know that the mother totally feels that the baby born is hers, although I know how grateful she is
Hope this helps. I also found Fertility Friend useful.
:)

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ringo65 · 01/06/2013 10:42

Thank you for all your replies it is really helping, OpheliaBumps, thank you for the Google suggestion and your comments about your twins has made me feel a lot more positive about the whole thing so thank you.

Congratulations Pocket1 and thank you for your comments on how you feel again it makes me feel a whole lot better.

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Luckystarfour · 31/05/2013 22:43

I've been reading this thread with great warmth in my heart to know that so many lovely ladies would consider dim donating their eggs.

We've just had a failed 5th cycle with donor sperm back up. It revealed that my eggs are also a factor.

As many other ladies have commented my husband and I so long to have our family that after 5 failed rounds we really feel that we must take the most probable route for success, this therefore means and egg and a sperm donor for us.

Please read my thread of FF if you're interested in learning more about our story.

www.fertilityfriends.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=307208.0

We would love to find a donor who could make our dream possible. :-)

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OpheliaBumps · 31/05/2013 20:43

Ringo I've got donor egg twins via Care Manchester Grin

I think of them as 'my children', after all I developed them from 5-6 cells in size, through to 6lb babies. Having said that, I do often think of the wonderful woman that helped them to be here, if that makes sense.

Google 'genetic expression', it makes interesting reading that suggests that I caused certain genes to be expressed in my children, that wouldn't have been expressed had they been developed in the donor's womb. This certainly appears to be the case with my two, they both demonstrate characteristics that are so similar to mine it's uncanny. I also often hear that DS looks just like hid dad, and DD is the image of me Grin

Good luck if you decide to go ahead, it's not an easy decision to make, and isn't an option that is acceptable to everyone, but I'm so glad I did it.

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Pocket1 · 31/05/2013 18:58

Ring sorry you've had that news, I know it's a shock but look at it positively in that you know what your options are. Many women never know this and try for years to conceive.

Btw I'm 35 weeks today having used donor eggs. I wanted to be a mum sooooo much it really didn't take DP and me long to decide to use donor eggs when we knew that was our only option. I'm not saying it never crosses my mind, but once you know there is a little person growing inside you, you will just fall in love with them. And that love grows and grows as they do. I feel like I know her having been so close to her for all these months. She kicks and wriggles all day - she is mine and I love her to bits. You'll be the same

Good luck
Grin

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Phineyj · 31/05/2013 18:50

Sorry I had to write less than I wanted as DD needed putting to bed...

Yes I think it is quite normal to worry about these things. I did have a few 'woah...my nieces are my genetic relations and DD won't be...' moments during the pregnancy, but since DD was born it doesn't matter at all. The extended family all know the circumstances of her conception and it hasn't made any difference to how they treat her -- she has been a source of great joy all round.

I think it probably helped i) that we had been considering adoption so had already been through the thought process about having a child who didn't look like us (in fact DD does resemble DH and his family) and ii) I have a niece who looks very like me. Also I am a practical person and decided not to get too hung up about it -- I was just happy we had finally found a positive consultant and a treatment that seemed to have a good chance of working.

The country where we had treatment only permits anonymous donation and I have been thinking a lot about the donor -- who was she, what was her motivation? I am very grateful to her obviously but will never meet her. We have given DD names that originate from the part of the world where the donor was from (probably, the donors are not necessarily nationals of the treatment country) to say thank you. The fee she was paid was quite large relative to living costs in that country. I hope she got a year's college fees out of it or whatever she needed...

I had some worries about not knowing DD's genetics but on the other hand the donors are tested very thoroughly (unlike people conceiving in the regular way) and I figure one may well be able to get one's genome sequenced as a run of the mill thing, by the time DD is older.

By the way, non-UK clinics don't require counselling but I think it's a good idea. I spent a couple of hours pouring my heart out to a counsellor before we did the first treatment and felt a lot better for it.

The main stress was having to travel a long distance at short notice for the treatments -- getting time off work without being able to discuss what for, etc, and family and friends not understanding what the treatment was or why we needed it, and asking daft or upsetting questions. I ended up feeling like I needed a press officer!

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Phineyj · 31/05/2013 18:18

Hi OP. My DD was born last year and we used an egg donor. It has made no difference at all to how I feel about her, other than that she is extra special because it took us 6 years to have her! We did our treatment abroad due to the long waiting lists in the UK. The clinic were lovely and did everything they could to enable us to succeed (it took two tries). We will tell DD all about it as soon as she is old enough to understand.

Pm me if you like.

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5madthings · 31/05/2013 18:11

I donated through altrui as well. All your travelling costs etc are covered for you :)

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