# Menapur worries



## wright1 (Jan 4, 2008)

Hi Maz, 
Having just read the previous topic about giving blood I'm a little worried about the risks of menapur. I used puregon to concieve dd and then the clinic kept changing their minds and have used menapur and gonal f to concieve this time. 
At no point did any one mention where menapur came from and that it would impact on my ability to give blood. 

Should my clinic have warned me about this? And what are the risks to me from using it which excludes me from donating? 
Thanks


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## Mistletoe (Holly) (Jan 1, 2007)

The HMG in Menopur is highly purified from the urine of post menopausal women.

Originally it was collected from nuns, so very pure and unlikely to be infected with anything, not sure now if it is still only nuns. According to the MHRA licensing information sheet the donors are from Argentina, which I believe has been chosen because of variant CJD in the UK.
The donors are excluded if they have been to the UK from what I can gather.

http://www.mhra.gov.uk/home/groups/par/documents/websiteresources/con134964.pdf

The blood transfusion service are quite picky about whether people have been treated with medicines from human origin or had a blood transfusion in the past after the scares with HIV, Hepatits C in the now quite distant past and more recently the worries over vCJD. I believe this is a ''just in case'' worry.

On the website it queries whether you have had medicines from pituitary and mentions 1985.
I have read on other forums that people have been excluded if they have had menopur, and others who have said they were still allowed to give blood. It seems to be a bit random. I suggest you ring the blood transfusion service and ask.

/links


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## wright1 (Jan 4, 2008)

Thank you for your reply. 

Should my clinic have explained this to me before using it? Ironically my dd was concieved via puregon and this baby by gonal f, so the menapur was a waste anyway! 
X


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## Mistletoe (Holly) (Jan 1, 2007)

I don't know individual clinic policies.

You would have been given this leaflet in the packet

http://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/medicine/17990/XPIL/Menopur/

that explains that it is extracted from the urine of post menopausal women.

So I guess it is up to you whether this is unacceptable to you or may have implications?

The clinic's primary concern is to give you the medicine they think will give you the best chance of conceiving. But as you say the recombinant FSH has been better for you. My babies were all conceived using Gonal F. Some people they feel will do better on Menopur.

/links


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