Azoospermia - Donor Route Support

[Blue234]

Hi everyone!

This thread is dedicated to those of us navigating the azo journey and considering or have chosen the donor route.

I thought it would be great if we could share our experiences, offer support, and help each other through this challenging path.

Looking forward to hearing your stories and supporting one another along the way.

I am happy to start this thread by sharing our story:
-After around 1 year TTC, we were diagnosed with unexplained non-obstructive azoospermia back in March 2024. We were given 30% chances of finding sperm with MTESE but my partner decided he wanted to try all we could before moving to option B.
-We had MTESE done via NHS in August 2024 and unfortunately it was unsuccessful. We had lots of discussion before the surgery and we had agreed that we would good via donor route if the surgery wasn't successful.
-We have now been referred for a NHS funded IVF cycle using sperm donor (funded by us) and currently waiting for the clinic to call us to have implications counselling.
-In the meantime, we are currently in parallel the process of finding a suitable donor.

I’m feeling a mix of emotions right now. On one hand, I’m happy and excited that we still have a chance to become parents and the idea of a future baby brings me so much joy. But on the other hand, there’s still a lingering sadness about what we’re going through, especially when I think about what my partner is facing.

Even though I know it’s not all about genetics, who hasn’t dreamed of having a baby that looks like their partner or a blend of both of us? While I believe I’ve mostly come to terms with this, a part of me still feels a bit heartbroken.

Choosing a donor is challenging. We try not to overthink it and even find moments to joke around while browsing profiles, but there’s so much to consider. One thing that particularly worries me is the possibility of our child wanting to contact the donor when they’re an adult. What if the donor isn’t kind to them? I know this is something far off in the future and out of our control, but it’s been on my mind lately.

Sorry for my long message, I will stop now! But just thought of sharing some of my thoughts to start with!

Looking forward to hear your stories!

@Magix86 @StarJasmine93 looping you into this new thread :)

@Disco24 I think its impossible not to set expectations despite of knowing this process is full of hiccups. We have even started discussing names 🤦

We’ve had to wait years longer than our friends / family / peers. We have to get some joy and excitement where we can 💖

Morning ladies! Just got an update from the clinic. From the 27 eggs retrieved, 17 were mature and 11 have been fertilized. I want to stay cautious until day 5 but I believe it sounds like quite reasonable and positive numbers (keeping fingers crossed).
I am feeling today much better than yesterday, even if still having some discomfort. They told me that we might still go ahead with a fresh transfer this week depending on how I am recovering these days.

@Blue234 that's great numbers, can imagine you're happy with that 😀
Did you have ICSI?

@Magix86 thank you! I am a bit relieved but still lets see how things progress! I actually asked them how they fertilized the eggs, cause I saw you mentioned you had ICSI and yes, they confirmed they used ICSI too. I always thought ICSI was used only if required (i.e.sperm retrieved from MTESE that are not very good quality/not very good motility), so I thought as we got sperm with the best motility it would be standard IVF. But looks that maybe it has to do as well with the sperm being frozen idk!

@Blue234 that's good. The embryologist told me they only do ICSI with donor sperm as she said it can be a bit "lazy" after being frozen!
Do you get any more updates, or just wait now for day 5? I got a call on day 2 but nothing more until we went in for my transfer. I wish we'd had an update on day 3 to be honest but they said they didn't want to disturb the embryos too much by checking

@Magix86 makes sense then! They will send me a message on day 3 with an update on progress. Didnt they tell you anything between day 2 and the transfer?

Oh great you have a day 3 update. Nope, nothing! We went in for our transfer not knowing anything until we were in the room for the procedure. They just said if there wasn't anything to transfer by day 5 then they would call us in the morning but otherwise to expect a transfer to go ahead and just turn up. Day of transfer at the clinic felt really rushed

@Blue234 congratulations for amazing numbers so far ❤️❤️❤️. That's great news. You must feel fab with those results. Appreciate you still have a few more days and more results to get but what a great position to be in. Giving this low AMH girly some hope 🤞... Though my AMH is still quite a bit lower than yours. But trying not to think too much into it.

Amazing news that you may still get your fresh transfer 🤞. Your recovery is the most important though so I hope you feel better soon.

Keep us posted 😊.

xx

Woohoo @Blue234 that sounds good to me 💖🥳

Glad you’re feeling better today, and glad you get an update on day 3.

Thanks a lot ladies🫶🫶 keeping fingers crossed🤞

@StarJasmine93 the AMH thingy would be something much better we didnt know about to be honest🤦 At the end of the day its just causing us stress and there is no much we can do about it🤦 good news for you is that you are quite young so age is on your side, so please stay positive :) Also we should trust doctors as they know what they do (even if sometimes given the limited information they give us is quite tricky to keep that trust). Yesterday I was a bit upset thinking maybe they gave me more medication than I needed, but then seeing the numbers I got today I felt reassured that they knew what they were doing, as with less medication we wouldnt have got to these numbers which I believe are now within the average🤞

How is your treatment going? Are you feeling ok?

Yeah you are so right @Blue234. I really wish I didn't know about it. The day I found out it had fallen to the level it is now was probably the darkest day for me in this whole process as it was right after my husband's MTese and so it felt like after all of that we were falling at the first hurdle. However, the nurses/doctors have been really encouraging so I'm trusting them! After all, they are experts within fertility so I do need to learn to trust them more like you say!

So pleased for you on your numbers though - it's fantastic!! ❤️

Yes treatment is going well so far thanks for asking! Not had many symptoms at all apart from one minor headache. My "withdrawal bleed" came today too as if you remember they put me on the pill for December to control my cycle. I apparently need to tell them todays date when I go in for my check next Friday to see if the down regs have worked 🤞. I guess it's because they take today as day 1 of my cycle.

@StarJasmine93 glad to hear you are doing well and all side effects are been really minor🙏

I can imagine how you felt when you got your last AMH results, its disappointing and unexpected...as if we didnt have enough with azo :( but all we can do is looking ahead, as every day we are getting closer to what we are looking for🙏🤗 Keeping fingers crossed for your next scan🙏🤞

How are you feeling today @Blue234 ?

Hope everyone is doing good.
We had our scan today at 7 weeks and saw everything where it should be and measuring for the right dates. Got to see the little heartbeat flickering away 💓
I'm so emotional I just keep thinking how lucky we've been 🥹

Omg @Magix86 cant believe you already could see the heartbeat😍 its amazing how quick the baby grows! Glad to hear everything is progressing well!

I am not feeling very well today. Since last night my stomach got quite bloated and I am really gassy. This happens to me sometimes but i am more bloated than usual so I am quite worried it might be OHSS symptoms :( i am waiting until tomorrow to report to the clinic in case by any chance gets better🤞🤞. But not feeling very positive today about the transfer happening this week if we manage to get any embryos :(

Oh @Magix86 how amazing! I’m so so happy for you both 💖💖

@Blue234 I’m sorry you’re feeling unwell. I hope the clinic gives you some peace of mind. Is there anything you can do to relieve symptoms?

@Disco24 thank you! I am drinking plenty of fluids, trying to keep moving and also applying heat on my belly. Lets see if I wake up better tomorrow🤞

Thanks so much 🥰 feeling so grateful but I'll still be panicking about everything until we get to 12 weeks lol

Ah @Blue234 sorry to hear that 😞 I've read somewhere they recommend drinking 3 litres of fluids daily if you're at risk of OHSS 😬
Really hope you can get as much rest as possible and see if things ease over the next few days. The clinic should hopefully give some advice tomorrow to help with how you're feeling

@Magix86 thank you! I have read the same. In any case, lets see which update I get tomorrow regarding the embryos🤞

Congratulations @Magix86 ❤️❤️. That's so lovely to hear. You must be so relieved. Do you now get discharged from the clinic or are you still under their care for a while?

@Blue234 sorry you aren't feeling well! That totally sucks. See how you go but definitely think of your health first. Keep up the fluids and keep us posted xx

Thanks @StarJasmine93 ❤️
That's it now! They've given me more cyclogest to last until 10 weeks and it's just over to NHS services now. I think it's still sinking in to be honest. I don't know how I'll wait another 5 weeks for the next scan so might look at getting a private one at 9/10 weeks lol just to double check

@Magix86 I'd definitely be the same 😂. Nothing wrong with getting more scans if that's what you need to get you through. xx

Hey Ladies! Hope you are doing well. I still cant believe it, but we just had our fresh transfer plus we have 5 more embryos to freeze🥹 I cant stop crying since they gave me the news. I have spent the whole transfer crying, I hope doctors are used to this 😂😂🤦Feeling positive for now but keeping finger crossed for us🤞

I've been thinking about you @Blue234
That's such amazing news! You must be so happy being able to have a transfer and also having 5 in the freezer! Did they give you info on the grading and stages of the embryos? Congratulations!! When is your test day? Sending all the positive vibes your way x

@Magix86 thanks a lot!🙏 Yees! I was so nervous about the number of embryos and whether we could go ahead today! They didnt tell me the grading, they just said they were all quite good quality and they picked the top quality one. My test day is 24th Jan. Keeping fingers crossed🤞🤞🙏