Every story has a beginning and an end. But the journey from start to finish can vary dramatically. This holds a great deal of truth, with each and every fertility experience.
When facing an infertility diagnosis, you can often feel like you’ve hit a huge bump in the road or you may feel like your journey is over before it’s even begun.
However, you’re not alone and just like with millions of other intended parents around the world, your journey can continue with help from fertility experts like Donor Egg Bank USA. While the next step may feel like a difficult crossroads that’s hard to navigate, taking things one step at a time can help you re-write your family’s future.
The First Step: Choosing Egg Donation
When you’re first told you need to consider other options to conceive, it’s overwhelming. All you’ve ever thought about is conceiving your child naturally. To be told this isn’t possible may feel incomprehensible.
That’s why it’s important to take your time considering your options. At first, Traditional IVF may seem like the ideal route. However, if there is a complication with your eggs, you may want to consider other avenues. These alternatives include adoption, surrogacy, or egg donation. Each of them comes with their advantages and disadvantages but using an egg donor is the only option that enables you to enjoy the process of carrying and giving birth to your child.
You can use an egg donor you know, e.g. a family member or friend. Yet, more intended parents choose to use an egg bank where they’re given access to a plethora of potential matches.
One other aspect to consider is whether to opt for fresh or frozen donor eggs. Frozen donor eggs provide greater flexibility since your cycle and your donor’s cycle don’t need synchronizing. This allows you to choose when you wish to start your IVF process, which can make the process easier and cheaper.
The Second Step: Finding an Egg Donor
After choosing egg donation as your fertility option, the next step is to find your ideal donor.
Will one be randomly selected for you by your donor egg bank?
No–absolutely not! This is one of the biggest misconceptions when it comes to egg donation. At first, many individuals often believe they don’t get to choose their egg donor, and/or they won’t receive a lot of information regarding who they are. This couldn’t be further from the truth.
When you decide to use an egg donor, you’ll be given access to a huge database of potential candidates. Even though they will remain anonymous to a certain extent, you will get to know a wealth of information about them. From their chosen career and academic achievements to their eye color and personality traits, you can get to know details about your donor before selecting them. Information provided also includes a donor’s personal medical and family medical history.
Will you opt for someone that resembles you? Or will you select someone based on the characteristics you’d love your child to inherit? The choice is yours.
The Third Step: Getting Ready to Receive Your Embryos
Once an egg donor is chosen, you will take a course of hormones to prepare your uterus for implantation. How quickly the process is will depend on whether you’re using fresh or frozen eggs. As mentioned previously, the former requires synchronization with your donor which takes longer.
When you’re ready to receive your embryo, it will be transferred to your uterus. Then, just two weeks later, you’ll return to your clinic for a pregnancy test to confirm your happy news.
The Fourth Step: Enjoying Your Pregnancy
After all of the upheaval, worry, and decisions, you can enjoy the pregnancy you have always dreamed of. Despite having to take a detour, you are now well on your way to completing the next step in your family’s story. Now is your time to nurture your baby, feel their first kicks, and prepare for their arrival into this world.
Granted, this may not have been the way you’d have written your story. But with every twist and turn that your family has overcome, you have created even greater bonds that will stand the test of time.