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 :)

Good morning ladies! How is everyone doing?

We picked up all our drugs yesterday. It's quite a lot 😬. All things going well, I'll start taking the pill in a couple weeks to start the process.

@Magix86 I assume you'll be on stims now? How's it going?

Hey @StarJasmine93 what meds are you on?
I start stims tonight! Will be on ovaleap and then fyremadel added in after a few days. Have had the worst period ever since stopping the norethisterone 😒
I'm actually really excited to do the first injection tonight, it really feels like we've finally started things!
Hope everyone else here is doing ok x

Happy Saturday! Hope you’re all doing well.

@StarJasmine93 how exciting! How long are the meds to cover you for if there’s a lot? I’ve seen on Instagram people buy fish tackle boxes to organise it all!

@Magix86 oh wow stims tonight! How long do you do that for? Sorry to hear your period was so bad, did anyone warn you of that?

I’m just waitttting for this cycle to be over to start our cycle of IUI. Feels like the longest wait ever, and still on day 24. Hopefully a new cycle this week, get my scans done and start clomid this week 🤞. Feeling a little apprehensive, excited, cautiously positive but very brain consuming. But nothing new to report 💖

@Disco24 @Magix86 so here's a screenshot of all my meds. On the pill once my next cycle starts and then stop that early January. Then put on Buserelin injections to start the down regs for a couple weeks. Then I start Meriofert which are my stims and will be on those for a couple weeks. It should all take me to the end of January 😬.

Exciting you are starting stims tonight @Magix86. Not long to go now!! Must feel so great.

@Disco24 great to hear you'll be starting this week too.

Got everything crossed for you both ❤️🤞

@Disco24 you'll be starting so soon though, hopefully the next few days go quickly for you 💕
They didn't warn me about the bleed so I had no idea what to expect. I always have a lot of pain but this one has been really heavy.
I stim for 5 days initially before my first scan but in total I think around 10 days?

@StarJasmine93 you have a lot of different meds to me - the only ones the same are the cyclogest and the ovitrelle. Please keep us updated on how you're finding them! Hope it all goes well for you too 💕

Hi everyone.

Thank you for all the kind words and advice. It's all such a minefield. We've had our implications counselling already, we just need to choose a donor and then we're good to go.

Really useful to hear a different take on CMV negative/positive. I know doctors and nurses are just doing they're job but it can feel like they are always saying 'are you sure'.

We picked a shortlist of donor's and are going to have genetic testing against two of them for the genetic conditions that they are a carrier of. This is free to use which we feel really grateful for.

It's so nice reading positive updates on where people are at in their treatment plans. Feels a very safe space! Xx

@Infertilityshokck sounds like things are progressing for you which is great 😊 guessing the genetic testing will take a few weeks?

@Magix86 yes it will take around 5 weeks, I have my blood test tomorrow morning so probably after Christmas when we'll hear back. Usually the free test offer is just against one donor but they have said we can test against a second which is also really helpful and will help us make an informed decision. With any luck I could be trying my first round of IUI in Feb.

How are the injections going?

Ooh, that's very exciting @Infertilityshokck 😄
Do you mind me asking which clinic you're with? I remember you said you're nhs funded. Have you chosen your donor privately? It sounds like you were given a lot more information on the genetics side of things than we were so just curious really. Maybe our clinic doesn't do actual testing and it's only if required, but we only got told of known medical issues, and were told it's basically only what the donor reports.
The injections aren't bad at all, thank you. Had a migraine after the first one that lasted a long time so trying to drink a lot more water. I was also given different instructions in the video that was shared, the nurses appointment and also the information booklet so had a hard time trying to decide which one to follow 😅
Hopefully I'm doing them OK, the meds seem to be going in so I guess that's all that matters lol
My main concern now is trying to decide whether to continue with sports this weekend- I'm keen not to miss it but also don't want to do any damage and don't know if I'll be feeling uncomfortable by that point...

@Magix86

We are with Manchester Fertility (although we don't live in Manchester), they use Fairfax Cryobank and as it was funded we decided to use this bank instead of looking privately. The donors we looked at, a couple of them were below the 1/70 threhold for the carrier testing and therefore they recommend that i have genetic testing. As the fertility clinic purchase 3 vials, we could have screening against the chosen donor for free, when we had a call with the genetics company last week, they said we could add another donor on as well. They also said I could have X genetic tetsing for conditions that affect sons, but have chosen not to do that as sometimes I think its too much information! Fairfax require their donors to do genetic testing and most have the 514 genes testing.

The advice always differs doesn't it! Glad its going well and not too many side affects. I'll keep my fingers crossed for sports this weekend!

Thanks for sharing @Infertilityshokck that's really helpful to hear. I'm starting to feel a bit worried that our donors didn't have any genetic testing! But as you said previously, you wouldn't normally know this info in the 'real world' when planning/ having a baby. Sometimes too much information can be overwhelming but it's a fine balance to get right.
Just have to hope we've made the right decision and trust that what will be will be I guess.
Thanks so much. Do keep us updated on your progress!

@Infertilityshokck thats great news they do all the checks! Sounds like they’re on it, February is just around the corner. Let us know how you’re getting on, we’re also doing IUI.

@Magix86 I also feel the same, had a little worry that we’d not done genetic testing or looked that deep into it. But I agree that doesn’t exist for most, so going to push on and hope for the best 💖

Regarding sport, the nurse has just said to me to be careful of anything core whilst on stims but do what you need for your mind. It sounds like you’re smashing the meds! Well done!

For us IUI #1 is finally go! Today is CD2 so had my baseline scan and started on clomid. Back next week for follicular monitoring.

@Disco24 thanks for sharing. Did you get info on your donor options having had genetic tests? Can't help worrying we've overlooked it all by going with our clinic's bank, as we didn't know any differently at the time.

Yes to starting your meds! 🎉 bet you feel happy to be starting. Really interested to hear how it goes for you, as I don't know too much about IUI.
Yeah, everything is telling me not to play this week, I'm just gutted about missing out lol but probably just need to accept it and know it's the best thing for me at this point

Yeah she’s asked me not to lift heavy, but I’m still going to run and get some lighter weights in. I’ll drive myself insane sat at home 😅

No we didn’t, and I’ve assumed that because nothing was called out on the information and the clinic are so diligent (only 1% of potential donors make it through to donate) I’m of the opinion they wouldn’t be able to donate with anything bad without us being informed. And now don’t know if I want to ask… I totally feel the same, I hope putting our trust in the clinic to tell us if necessary is enough!

@Disco24 @Magix86 - I'm so sorry, I never meant to cause any stress regaridng genetic tests and donors. The bank we used, you just download the information. This all goes back to my original post, I think we've had too much information which has made it so hard as now you know, its hard to unknow!

@Infertilityshokck no need to apologise! I think you said it yourself, this whole process is an absolute minefield and there are so many things to try and consider. I'm sure I'm just overthinking things and like @Disco24 says, if the clinic knew anything they'd have to share it. In all honesty I've been so focused on my meds recently that the whole donor thing had gone out of my mind for a while.

Ohhhh no sorry @Infertilityshokck not at all! Please don’t feel bad about saying! It’s new for all of us so you only know your own process, it’s just interesting to find out.

I agree, the donor element feels like the biggest thing then the focus continually switches 😂

How is everyone getting on? I had my second monitoring scan today and am booked in for egg collection a day early on Wednesday 😳 I cried when they told me haha it's feeling so real now.
At my Baseline scan they said I had an AFC of 8. On Thursday I had 14 follicles and today there are 18 😁
Just praying I can get through the next few days ok without anything going wrong 🙏

That's all sounding amazing @Magix86!! Congratulations. So pleased everything is going as planned for you ❤️❤️.

You must be ecstatic xx

Yayyy @Magix86 thats fantastic news! Another step in the right direction 💖

All going well here, just completed my 5 days of Clomid. A few side effects but nothing major, mainly bloating/fullness, but all manageable. I have my next scan Monday to check on follicles and have been asked to start monitoring my ovulation with OPKs.

Trying to focus on nutrition and sleep, but my husband had an unrelated operation yesterday so it’s been a busy week. Everything always comes at once 😂

Sooo yeah, just waiting for 1 or 2 follicles to mature anytime from Monday then hopefully it’s trigger shot and IUI time, maybe later next week. A lot to process for sure!

Thank you @StarJasmine93 😊 definitely happy but such a learning curve. I'm anxious all the time about whatever the next hurdle is!
@Disco24 that's amazing, well done! Really hoping for a good scan for you on Monday and hope your partner is doing OK! Sounds like a difficult/busy time for you both 💕

Hey ladies! Sorry I have been a bit absence here!

@Magix86 @Disco24 such greats news about your early egg collection and your upcoming IUI! Wish you all the luck🍀

@StarJasmine93 glad to hear you have now your plans and medicines collection. For me, it felt real for the first time when I got my meds.

I am starting injections for downregulation (burserelin) in 1 week and will have my first scan to check whether downregulation was achieved two weeks after. I am really trying to keep myself busy to not think too much about it, as I am a bit scared of the side effects I will have during the process.

@Magix86 Oh I’m sure it’s such a learning curve! Do you know what’s happening next to prepare for the next hurdle? The anxiety is ever prevalent for me too, I don’t know about you but I’m just never sure if I’m doing enough. Like eating right, working out right etc. it’s a lot to manage mentally!

Thank you for the well wishes @Blue234. Great to hear you have a plan too, did they give you a breakdown of side effects to prepare for?

@Blue234
@Disco24 ! Yeah they told me for downregulation part most likely I will have menopausal symptoms (as basically they are putting me on "menopause" for a period of time ) such as hot flushes, headache and bloating. Not really looking forward to it😂

Oh wow! I mean they don’t make it easy for us do they.

I had nightly flushes on Clomid so kept an extra pair of pyjamas next to the bed, and the fan at the end of the bed. Never had them before, was very interesting. I also treated myself to a new big water bottle as I was told fluids keeps symptoms lower. I know side effects are usually less on Clomid, but just some of the things I did 💖