# IVF with donor eggs - Spain or UK?



## Edinburgh Lass

Hi there,

We've been through 2 failed ivf cycles at IVF Scotland in Edinburgh & as my reserve is low, my consultant has recommended we look at ivf with donor eggs.

He recommended IVI in Madrid and we've done some research on this.  Has anyone used IVI Madrid for ivf with donor eggs & have any feedback they could share?  

Last week we then went for a counselling session at IVF Scotland and the counsellor encouraged us to also think about the UK for egg donation before making a final decision.  If we go with the UK route, we would rather go to clinics in North & I've requested information from CARE in Manchester & Manchester Fertility and this website also has details for The London Women's Clinic in Darlington.  Does anyone have any feedback on these clinics or other suggestions in Northern England specifically with regard to ivf with donor eggs?

Thanks for your help,


----------



## firefly9373

Hi EdinburghLass

I too had failed IVF treatment at the Edinburgh clinic and was left feeling slightly let down by the whole process for many reasons but mostly the lack of communication/information from them. I have a low reserve and easily accepted to try the donor egg route and started doing my own research. The Edinburgh clinic also recommended IVI Madrid when I told them I was going the donor route but there's an abundance of good clinics out there to choose from.
We chose a clinic in Zlin, Czech Republic as they have a fantastic success rate and I had success on our first try there and have 2 frosties on ice. I have a beautiful 6 week old boy as a result   You can check out the forum on here and see all the positive stories...
I found that the Spanish clinics seemed very expensive compared to the Czech clinics which offer the same treatments (which offer more treatments than the Edinburgh clinic) but you also have to consider if you'd prefer the donor to be anonymous or not. UK donors can be traced whereas most of the clinics abroad have anonymous donors. The clinic we went to had a hotel attached which was an added bonus for us and after treatment you are wheeled away from the theatre and straight to your hotel room bed! 
I found the thought of going abroad for treatment terrifying as it was completely out of my comfort zone but it really couldn't have been easier to organise and it turned out to be the best decision I ever made! 
Best of luck and I hope you find success in whatever you decide


----------



## Edinburgh Lass

Thanks firefly,

Is always good to get recommendations.  Have just received all the info from Zlin so will look at tonight.  I might be coming back to you for some more tips....!!


----------



## bombsh3ll

Hi Edinburgh Lass,

I live in Edinburgh too and had successful DE at FIV Marbella in Spain in 2012. Would recommend Spain over local with all my heart - going abroad sounds like a lot of hassle but it was so much easier, less stressful and involved far less time off work than OE at the RIE.

I looked briefly at schemes run by the Edinburgh private hospitals linking up with IVI in Madrid, and all this amounts to is a very expensive middle man making a whopping profit, so I would definitely think carefully about whether an intermediary is needed if you are considering this, it can add thousands for no difference in treatment.

Wherever you decide to go, most clinics abroad (and I made enquiries at many) seem to have English speaking staff who can discuss everything with you by phone and email.

Foreign clinics also have the advantage of anonymous donation, no UK record of the fact you have had DE so you can completely pass as having had OE when you book for antenatal care (as I did). Also depending on the rules in each country, they will often allow a higher number of embryos transferred per cycle - Greece up to 4, Spain 3 which is what I had. UK clinics will only allow max 2 and will try and push you into SET then they can hold your frosties to ransom & charge megabucks for however many FETs if unsuccessful. 

I can only speak for my clinic in Spain but they generally seemed much more patient rather than profit orientated than the UK commercial fertility industry.

Best of luck,

B xxx


----------



## Surfergirl

Hi Edinburgh Lass,

It's a really personal decision. I have had DE IVF in both Spain and the Uk. My successful cycle was my NHS one! We had 4 cycles at IM in Barcelona at a cost of £10000 per go with 2 chemical pregnancies and 2 negatives. I had 2 NHS funded cycles in Exeter and the second worked. I now have a beautiful 18 month old dd. I personally really rated Exeter. The staff were professional and compassionate. I was only entitled to 1 NHS cycle but the first was not great due to the donor not producing many eggs so they offered us two frozen eggs, which they were not obliged to do, asking us just to pay towards the drugs. 

I've heard excellent reports on Czech clinics and also Serum in Greece. Have a look at the threads. Spain is very good but higher in price. 

Another consideration is whether you would want to tell any potential child of their origins. UK is donor ID release and Spain is anonymous. We plan to tell our dd, and had to be honest with her doctors as she was born prematurely and they wanted to rule out some genetic conditions so it was very important that they be informed that she was DE conceived. 

Bombsh3ll - I can totally appreciate what you are saying about numbers of embryos put back in cycles abroad, I had 3 put back on one cycle in Spain to maximise chances but tbh, it horrifies me now that I took such a massive risk!  I saw many twins and triplets in the 3 different neonatal ICU's my dd was in and they were mostly IVF babies, some conceived abroad. You could see the despair the Paediatricians felt as there is not always a happy ending.....


----------



## UK-Canuck

Hi Edinburg Lass

Just to put my two cents in, the main difference with going abroad is that if you go abroad the donor is very likely to be anonymous and you might well only get age and blood type as details about her. My hubby immediately dismissed this idea and that we'd be taking the opportunity away from our child to find out more about our donor in the future - it took me a bit longer to think it through, but we both totally agree now. We've had one (failed  DE cycle so far)  but we were very excited about it as our donor felt like someone we could be friends with, if our child was curious & wanted to contact her at 18 or later - we shared 3 out of the 5 hobbies that we were told about, were excited about her background, which wasn't British but suited us, liked her job that was a "caring profession" and she'd even been to uni, which we'd been told was very unlikely "characteristic" with most of our clinics' donors. Sadly neither of us got pregnant, but donors are real people too and we've liked having the extra details.  (although will make it hard for the next donors we're offered to compete!)  Not of course that I expect to meet up every week in future, but I'd like to think we'll have something in common if our children do ever want to meet her. Also there are no ethics questions about how the eggs were acquired as you're under UK law here & everything is properly regulated unlike other countries. 

Also I've been thinking a lot recently about our children (when they come along) and they will of course be people one day - we're not just having "babies" they will grow into people & probably have questions & who knows what those will be - there's no way of controlling whether they're curious or not - I rather hope they are, but who knows. Bottom line though, we will love these children no matter what and we'll be totally honest with them, as we'd never want to risk them finding out by accident when they're older, with a mismatched blood group in a school project or seeing their full medical notes or something in the future. 

Sorry just having time thinking "beyond the cute baby" - partly as all my friends kids are growing up  (leaving us behind  ) but realising how many questions they ask!

Lots of luck whatever you decide!
Canuck xx


----------

