Donor Egg Success Stories?

[Applewisp]

I had my first donor egg (husband’s sperm) frozen embryo transfer on 11th of December and am on my TWW. Just looking for any positive experiences and stories.

Anyone get lucky on their first transfer?

I’ve read not to get too excited about symptoms because the hormones can cause them whether pregnant or not. But today (the 15th, so 4 days after transfer) it does feel like something could be happening. I have felt thirsty, a little dizzy, mildly nauseous. And I haven’t felt that way from the hormones hitherto today. What were your experiences?

I traveled to Prague and did this at Gennet clinic. Would love to hear if anyone else went abroad or stayed domestic and what their experiences are.

And how is it going with mamas of DE babies 💝

Ohh good luck op. Rooting for you. I’m looking at this clinic also. Have an appointment on 18th. Do you recommend the clinic?

Keep us posted ❤️ xx

I’m not sure if I recommend yet. Our coordinator was sweet, not so sure how I feel about the Dr we were assigned. We have felt sort of rushed through at every appointment, but part of that may just be Eastern European pragmatism and efficiency. I don’t really care if they don’t hold our hands if they know what they’re doing and get results. The one sticking point is the dr was very negative about transferring two embryos, which was our preference. We could have pushed for it and did it anyway, but her insistence was intimidating and shaming (citing risks of multiple births). Google will confirm multiples are more risky, but you still are seeing IVF twins everywhere, even new ones so it’s definitely still being done. It made some sense to do only a single embryo because I have had mysterious possibly autoimmune issues so we don’t know how my body will respond or if I will reject it. In the end we went with one embryo to hold more back for more chances. But it’s still not sitting well with me because I actually really did want twins for several reasons. I’ve got fibromyalgia issues and I wanted to just do two and done and not have to nurse a newborn with a toddler causing chaos in order to have two. Now we have 3 embryos frozen so if this one fails, I guess we will try one single transfer again and do the last 2 together. But I wish I stuck to my guns and did the 2 embryos. Because of this, I really don’t know if we will go to another clinic if this cycle fails.

I also had an experience with Gynem for a polyp removal procedure and I was really happy with them, their communication, and how they treated me. They’re a smaller clinic and it was more warm. At Gennet you feel like you’re walking into a large buzzing hive of activity. But I thought being a bigger clinic was good for a larger egg donor database and their own resources.

Hi @Applewisp just stopping to say good luck , and that I'll be very interested in the poll results!!! We are doing DE IVF, have one transfer behind us in November which ended in a chemical pregnancy, beta stopped growing at 5.5 weeks.

Unfortunately we've only had one embryo this cycle, from 6 eggs, so we're trying with a different donor and more eggs now. We'll also send any embryos for PGT-A testing. Hopefully we'll have the IVF itself before the end of the year.

Feeling rather apprehensive about it, and so would love to see some reassuring "first or second transfer was successful" replies 😂 I know it may take a few tries even with DE, but I'm still reeling from the cycle's failure.

Good luck with your TWW, fingers crossed your symptoms suggest you may have a winner already!

So sorry your first didn’t work. Are you doing it in UK or abroad? We have 3 more embryos on ice but I’m afraid we are out of money for awhile if none of them work. Really hoping to get two full siblings sharing same donor, but it’s all really out of our control. Good luck to your future success 🍀💞

Hello, and thank you for your kind words. Our past OE cycles were in the UK with TFP, and the DE cycle was in Poland. Next DE round will also be in Poland, due to cost and donor availability / waiting times.

With 4 embryos, I think you needn't worry about another cycle 😊The statistics are on your side! I do understand the worry though, I'm already running "what-if" scenarios for the next cycle. I really hope we get more embryos this time, it's the last chance for us!

How is your TWW this time? Will you wait until your OTD, or test early?

Well I did a test today which was negative but I’m only on day 5 post transfer. Getting symptoms now but the internet assures me not to take them seriously as it’s just as likely to be the progesterone. Are you having a positive experience in Poland? I’ve really enjoyed the visits to Prague.

Hi @Applewisp i also had a cycle with Gynem and Gennet in Prague.For certain reasons, Gennet was better for us and if I did a better research I would have chosen Gennet in a first place.
I had one unsuccessful transfer in Gynem and 1 failed transfer at Gennet. The 2nd transfer worked. I’m 32 weeks now.

@Applewisp as an serial tester I completely understand you! And also can say it's probably too early!

The Polish clinic team actually gave me very clear guidance: apparently with successful implementation they expect to see a positive blood HCG result on 6 DPT, and said this should translate into positive urine test by 9 DPT... so you still have a good couple of days of this anxiety! Keeping my fingers crossed you'll see the second line 🤞

The Polish clinic is called Invicta, they have branches in several major cities with airports. They have their own donor bank which is what made us choose them.

I'd say they're very good on the technology/medicine front (more extensive testing prior to our cycle, more willing to tailor the protocols to individual patients, and to do the in-depth diagnostic now after our chemical). Very good consultants, everyone is super friendly. Admin and procedural side of things could be better; but it was manageable.

I'm glad your experience in Prague was also positive, we've considered going there as well 😁

Hope you'll be able to share good news soon! 💕

Hey @Happibara i just had a quick google of invicta and it seems like their donor egg prices are about £3k. Is that right? Xx

Hi! Yes, that's right... or even slightly better: they provide eggs in sets of 6, each time we've paid it was £2600-2700, depending on currency values.

Thanks lovely! Is that the full amount? Like meds for the donor and transfer? That’s the cheapest I’ve seen. Is the donor anonymous? I’m defo going to check it out xx

Hello @Mrsblobby88

No, that's not the full amount; eggs only.
I still think it's good value (considering a batch of 6 in UK was quoted at approx. £9,900 by our clinic, with up to 18 months waiting list)... but you have to pay A LOT on top of that, for the IVF procedure and transfer, meds, tests etc, and budget travel costs in as well.

Total cost of the entire cycle came up to almost £8000 for us. Which is a lot less expensive than what we'd pay in the UK (cheaper than the eggs alone would be!) but a lot in itself.

If this helps, you can see our cost breakdown below (I expect it to be the same for our next cycle in December-February)

Tests we carried out, and various appointments prior to IVF were approx £800. That was infectious disease screening for both of us for; Scans and gynae examination for me; and for my partner kariotype test, and extended semen analysis, with DNA fragmentation and sperm-hyaluronic acid binding test. They also made us pay for all individual appointments / consultations before we've signed up for their IVF package.

The IVF itself was approx. £2800 (that's for creating a frozen sperm deposit and FAMSI (it's ICSI with add-ons, where they select good morphology sperm).

The transfer was approx. £700, that price included cycle monitoring, embryo glue, transfer, and implantation monitoring: 3 follow up blood tests and appointments where they review hormone levels and adjust the meds.

Medication for FET cost me approx. £300 (it would have been enough for the preparation to FET and until week 12 of pregnancy, but obviously I have left overs now for next cycle).

Travel has cost us around £700, that was 2 trips for both of us, and then 3 trips for just myself. All round trips UK-Poland, with budget airlines. Generally depending on your commitments and time of year the travel cost may vary a lot, so worth looking at it.
We didn't pay for accommodation, staying with relatives or friends, but typically you should allow £50-100 per night at a hotel or AIRBNB

I hope this helps! Good luck with your planning 😊

Donor embryo transfer worked first time! Currently 13 weeks pregnant. Went to Portugal as wanted open ID. Cost 6000 for 8 eggs. Got 2 x 4AA blasts and 3 that were lower rated can't recall exact.
I also considered double transfer to boost chances but did so much research into specific risks with donor pregnancy and twin pregnancy. Odds are still really high with single transfer if a well rated embryo. Double donors seems to give best odds as both young and healthy. Wasn't my first choice obviously but I'm at peace with it. Good luck!

I thought I had the faintest positive yesterday (day 5pt) but thought eyes were tricking me. Today (day 6) I could see it more clearly and husband could see it!

Congrats! I got my first faint positive today!

Hi, a few friends of mine had success with Czech clinics. Some time back I came across a brand new channel, I think so, named Behind IVF clinics door, and watch the review of Czech clinics. Frankly I have been impressed by their labs, teams and their approach.

How are you getting on @Applewisp xx