# Ovum donation - has anyone done this in Spain?



## Lady Lily (Sep 25, 2013)

Hiya

I am a new member here, 42 and have recently found out that I am virtually at the end of my reproductive life with a 10% chance of IVF sucess with my own eggs. 2 Misscarriages last year and no sucess since.  I met my partner late in life and we are both desperate to have a small family.

Our best option is to go to Spain and have ovum donaiton with IVF (although we could try with our eggs I really want to have the best option of sucess and am comfortable with a donated egg). We are planning to do this early in the new year, but wondering if any of you out there have experienced this, had any sucess and be open to any questions etc etc

The consultant has had a good look inside me and says there should be no issues with me carrying a child. My ovarian reserve is under 3 and my last FSH level was 31. I have also been diagnosed with an underactive thyroid which is slowly coming under control.

Thanks for any advice


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## Silverandsilver (Jun 5, 2013)

Hi Lady Lily,

My DH and I went to Spain in the summer to find out about our options. I am 41 and we have undergone 4 rounds of ICSI without success. I was pregnant last Christmas but no heartbeat was found at our 8 week scan. We were devastated and I was told that it was probably due to my age and slight male factor. I was recommended the BCNIVF clinic in Barcelona as a friend went there and had success with egg donation. The clinic were extremely professional and friendly and we were impressed by what we heard and saw on her first visit. They too suggested egg donation as miscarriage rates for the over 40s are so high. We did not want to put ourselves through anything that carried a higher risk and like you want the highest possible rate of success. While we were there they suggested extra testing for my DH such as FISH and karyotype tests ( never suggested by the clinic we had been using). They did not want to put us through egg donation without knowing all the information. We agreed on the extra testing and they told us all about the procedure - artificial cycle with an anonymous donor. We went back home and waited for the results. The results were a total shock as it was not slight male factor but severe genetic problems. We would never have been able to sustain a pregnancy natural or with IVF. I was angry with our previous clinic for putting us through 4 years of ICSI. We were given the choice of doing IVF with my own eggs and an anonymous sperm donor but there would still be the over 40 risk of miscarriage. We decided against this and went to the option of double donation. It was a lot to take in but we felt that we can cope with this. We went to the clinic on Monday and they transferred 2 perfect embryos that are as much like  me and my DH as possible. The medical testing that donors have to go through is quite extensive. The clinic have excellent staff and they really take good care of you. They are so specialized in what they are doing and I feel like they really know what they are talking about. After the transfer they handed us a little box as a present- it is a memory stick with images of our two embryos! I am now in the 2ww and have a better chance of success now than ever before - more than 65%. I have to accept that there is still a possibility that we will be terribly upset and disappointed again but I have a good feeling. My friend has a beautiful one year old and I hope that I can say the same one day. Best of luck!


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## Lady Lily (Sep 25, 2013)

Hi Silverand silver

Thank you for your reply and I am keeping my fingers and toes crossed for you on this exciting journey.

We are really luck to have had all the tests on both of us done in the UK  and the issues cleary lay with me (we have had genetic testing done as well) The clinic here in the UK is linked to a clinic in alicante which has fantastic reviews, so for a small fee (relative to everything else) they are now actually setting everything up for is using all of the tests and results of my laparoscopy etc from my consultant - so the additional fee here is saved on some of the tests and consultations out in Spain.

They even do the initial consultation with us from the hospital in the UK via skype.

So next Tuesday we kick off with the blood tests to confirm our blood groups and HIV etc etc and a mammogram for me (not looking forward to that). As Christmas is coming we plan on starting all the drugs asap after Jan 1st so hopefully to Spain early March to have the donor egg and IVF. we will also provide the photos and begin the matching process. A friend of mine I confided in who went to Spain for IVF has recently shared they used a donor egg. I actually had no idea, the child looks just like them both and you would never ever know.

I actually feel really positive about the donor egg situation - its only 21 cells I am borrowing to get me started and although I haven't beenthrough as many dissapointments as you, I want to give us as much a change as possible for this to work. 

Last weekend of alcohol this weekend - I plan on having a few 

I really hope this works out for you both - thanks for sharing, its a comfort to know there are other people out there going through the same


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