# New to FF and egg donations



## DebsT (Aug 3, 2010)

Hi, I am new to FF and am looking for some advice about egg donations.  I am age 38 and I have had 2 ivf cycles.  My second one resulted in a BFP but I then miscarried at 9 weeks.  The third one I had was converted to a IUI as my body did not respond to the treatment.  I have a high FSH-19 and a low AMH-4.5.  I think my only chance of getting pregnant now is through egg donations.  I have emailed numerous clinics here and abroad and found that some clinics in the UK have satellite clinics abroad but the cost seems to be very high.  I also learnt that some clinics do packages with part refunds if they fail.  I am quite interested in this and would like to know if anyone has done a package abroad.  Also do these packages class a pregnancy as a success or do they go through to a live birth?


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## Ceri. (Sep 6, 2004)

Hello and  to Fertility Friends

Please have a good look around the site and feel free to post in any area, and make yourself at home. Fertility Friends is such a huge support. There are many who are on their TTC journey, and others who have been fortunate to have little ones with assistance. You will soon discover that our members are very encouraging of one another and offering advice or just simple hugs. There's a vast amount of information here for everyone, so start reading, posting and getting to know others. You will make some great friends too (add them to your buddy list in your profile!), lots of members often have meet ups locally too, for chats, coffee, shopping or even nights out! You can share conversations with one another freely, simply because we all understand each other. It's hard when family and friends don't fully comprehend what this journey entails and the emotions that go with it. That's where we come in!

Here are some links which you should find really useful at the moment&#8230;&#8230;

*What Every New Member Needs To Know (includes a list of common abbreviations) ~ *   CLICK HERE

*Peer Support (for asking fertility and treatment related questions of your fellow FFers) ~ * CLICK HERE

*Complimentary, Holistic and Spiritual Approaches ~ *CLICK HERE 

*Donor sperm/eggs ~ *CLICK HERE

*IVF General ~ *CLICK HERE

*Treatment Outside The UK ~ *  CLICK HERE

While undergoing treatment, you might find it useful to join other ladies having treatment at the same time. The Cycle Buddies threads are just for that. You will find a thread, usually with a funny/inspiring name for this year's buddies. Just pop along to the appropriate month and say "Hi" when you are ready to start treatment.

*Cycle buddies ~ *CLICK HERE

Poor Responders chatter thread ... http://www.fertilityfriends.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=244723.0
These ladies will give you some excellent advice on clinics etc. They all are classed as 'poor responders' but lots still trying with their own eggs, I know one lady with a lower AMH than yours and achieved a pregnancy  ) Have a natter with them all, they're lovely 

You can also chat live in our chat room. We have a newbie day in the chat room every Wednesday where you can meet one of our mods for support, meet other new members and get technical support with navigating the site and using all the functions available here.  CLICK HERE FOR INFO ON NEWBIE CHAT 

You can also "meet" and chat with people in your local area through the *Location boards*. This is especially useful to find people who may be using the same clinic and or in the same PCT area. It's a small world!

Wishing you lots of luck    and 
Keep in touch
Ceri xx

PS I have also sent you a pm (private message)


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## staggers (Aug 31, 2010)

Hi DebsT

i've only just joined FF today but saw your post underneath mine and you didn't have any replies so here goes...

I'm having IVF at the end of September (my eggs and donated sperm) and am only able to afford it through donating my eggs.  This is through the london womens clinic who have a few centres dotted around (my nearest is over an hour away but it could be worse I guess).  Anyway they do a 3 cycle package there at a reduced cost (like a three for two offer!), so they might be worth a call/check their website?

Staggers x


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## DebsT (Aug 3, 2010)

Thanks so much for your information and advice.  I really appreciate it.  Staggers is the womens clinic the one on Harley Street in London?  I will try and contact them re the package deals if it it.  I am near Manchester so it will be a bit of a trek  but that's okay.  

And thank Ceri for all of the site options.  I am getting very confused how to navigate around the site.  This will hopefully help!!!

Deb xxx


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## Ceri. (Sep 6, 2004)

Debs ... If you need any help please call back here on this thread (as it's yours  )
and i'll help  Where abouts up north are you then, you cant be far from me


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## DebsT (Aug 3, 2010)

Hi I live in Blackburn.  Is that near you?


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## Ceri. (Sep 6, 2004)

Well we're in the same town!


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## caspar (Sep 18, 2006)

Hi DebsT,

I did egg donation through a clinic in Spain and was part of a refund package deal.  I already have a son who is almost 3 from an IVF I did 3 years ago using my own eggs - but after a further 2 fails using my eggs we opted to use donor eggs to try for a sibling as felt that the statistics were way better as I was fast approaching 40 and money was running out fast.

The clinic we used UR VistaHermosa in Alicante Spain do a 3-go refund package - basically providing you pass certain criteria you can sign up for this deal. We paid 12,500EUR for 3 goes - if after 3 attempts we had been unsuccessful we would have been refunded 30%. I was told by the clinic that they had never had to refund to anybody and certainly they do seem to get the results going by the girls on the VH thread.  Our 1st attempt with them failed but our 2nd worked and I am now 30 weeks pregnant. They class 'success' as getting past 13 weeks.

I found travelling to Spain a little bit of a pain but in hindsight really not that much given the reward! Any questions, please ask, I'm happy to help!

xx


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## louise36 (May 18, 2010)

Hi Debs

I am 35 and have low amh 3.2 but my FSH was "normal". DH has low sperm so double whammy for us! We are currently undergoing our second cycle of IVF but have already been recommeded that our route may need to be with donor eggs.  We are looking at Spain , prob Barcelona as that is where my cousin went and couldnt rate it high enough. They now have twins so it can happen! Ive looked into it there and its about 6500euros.  

Hope this helps!
Zx


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## DebsT (Aug 3, 2010)

Hi thanks Caspar for your information about the Vistahermosa clinic and congratulations on your pregnancy.  I have emailed them and they said I had to reach a certain criteria for the package.  Do you know what the criteria is?  I wish the success was based on more than 13 weeks pregnant though because some say there is still a considerable risk of miscarrying until 18 weeks or so.  It is really difficult when you start to look into it.  Some go through to a live birth but seem to be alot more expensive for that.  

Thanks also to Zenalh on your information re Barcelona, if you find anywhere of interest please let me know.  

Thanks again.

Deb


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## staggers (Aug 31, 2010)

Hi Debs T

The womens clinic I'm with is in Darlington - not sure how long it would take to get there from Manchester?  They do have other clinics - Cardiff & Swansea in addtion to London and Darlington.  But, if you're thinking of going abroad, maybe distance isn't a problem?  You'll also be covered under HFEA too. Their success rates are over 50% (58% for IVF in my age bracket) which is great compared to the 11% chance I had with IUI!

Hope that helps in some way.  If you contact the clinic they'll send you loads of info, even if you don't use them their info is really useful.

Staggers xx


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## DebsT (Aug 3, 2010)

Thanks for that Staggers.  I will contact the clinic.


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## dtw01 (Jan 28, 2007)

I cannot recommend Serum in Athens highly enough ....pop onto the Greece thread and have a look.

Penny at the clinic goes over and above expectations and really can make dreams come true !!!

Good luck on whatever you decide .

H xx


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## caspar (Sep 18, 2006)

Hi,

I don't remember exactly what the criteria is but with us there was nothing really wrong with either us - I have very low AMH (2.2 when last tested in 2007 but I went on to have my ds with my eggs despite this AMH result). I had mild endo lasered in 2005.  I know they like you to be in a certain weight range and they do the FISH test on your partners sperm. They also do a quick scan at your appt to check for cysts.  Providing all that comes back as normal you are accepted.  Well we were anyway!

I know what you mean about the mc rates but remember with donor eggs you are using the eggs of a significantly younger lady so that reduces your risks to start with.  It is a tough one because it is alot of money but I guess there are no guarantees with any pregnancy. I was told by a gynae here that once you had passed the 12 week mark and seen a normal healthy baby with a normal hb that the chances of miscarrying drop to about 1% or less.

hth, xx


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## DebsT (Aug 3, 2010)

Thanks for that re the information about Vistahermosa.  That sounds positive about the 1% chance of miscarrying.  Makes it a bit more hopeful.  I have emailed them for some information.

Deb x


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