Help New here Questions

missionbaby · 02-03-2007, 04:58 PM

I am just starting this and my surfing the boards has led to more questions than answers. I have lost both ovaries to monstrous ruptured cysts but still have my uterus, so IVF/DE here we come. How long does it take to get matched with an egg donor? Are there wait lists? I live in Chicago, any experiences with local donor agencies or RE's? Someone mentioned weight restrictions for IVF has anyone heard of this. I weigh 190 is that a problem? Does insurance cover the DE costs? I have a friend willing to donate but she is 37, would you reccomend this? People have suggested getting an IVF center with 70% + success rates but the SART site did not have any chicago area clinics with rates that high? I'm sorry, just overwhelmed, optimistic one minute then discouraged the next...TIA

kellyrn · 02-03-2007, 06:54 PM

Hello Missionbaby!!!
I am in the beginning stages of DE as well. I have had PGD done with my last IVF cycle and it's pretty much kaput with my eggs too. On my initial consultation, I was told that it could take like 3-6mos for a match. However, there are SEVERAL hoops that you must go through first (and money up front) before they will even let you see a current donor list. I am at the finish line right now for being eligible to see the list, and to have them start looking. (Our initial consult was on 1/4--if that gives you a good time frame). You need to update any labs that they require for you and dh, get a baseline mammogram, pap smears and cervical cultures, recent semen analysis, etc. Then you need to go through psychological eval, orientation to program, then look at the donor list. My psych eval and orientation day is this Wednesday, so I'll let you know how that goes!!! I go to Saint Barnabus in Livingston NJ. Their success rate is 70%. I have not heard of weight being a factor. As far as insurance, BCBS for me-will cover the donors cycle, labs and retreival, but not the evaluation work up to get into the program itself. The total cost I was given was $12K. $4 for her "work-up", and $8 for her compensation. A lot of money, I know. But still cheaper than adoption, which is twice the cost. Plus, it still gets to at least be a part of dh, which is comforting. I wish you the best of luck. Keep in touch. I'm no expert at this, but I'll be glad to share whatever I know!!!

mama2one · 02-03-2007, 08:14 PM

Mission baby,

Well first of all you are very lucky in one respect. Since you leave in the wonderful state of IL (which I assume you do) your insurance company is required to pay for at least four cycles of IVF. I'm not sure how DE fits in there, but it is definitely worht checking out.

As far as finding an RE in Chicago, I have heard wonderful things about the Chicago clinics (although I haven't been to one myself). I can't think of the exact names of them, but I have a very good friend who is now a mother thanks to the great work of one of those clinics.

All DE programs work differently. Typically you and your husband willl both have to undergo a psycological evaluation. Then you will have to have bloodwork drawn to make sure neither of you has an STD. They may also want to do some bloodwork to check your hormone levels. Then they will do an ultrasound of your uterus to see what is going on in there.

We did DE through our REs office and it was wonderful. They had a book full of women who wanted to do DE and most were ready to go as soon as we were ready to go. We got to see a picture of the woman and her children. We also got to know her height, weight, family medical history, college education, etc.

There are several ways you can go about finding an ED. One way (and I would say the best way) is to go through your REs office. This way you know all of the candidates have had a psychological evaluation, and had bloodwork to make sure they are candidates for donation. You can also go through and agency that handles egg donors, but I have heard some really bad things about these agencies taking people's money with no results. Then the last thing you can do is try to find an ED on your own. Again this is risky and can cost you alot of money and pain in the long run if you get someone who is not honest and trustworthy. One site that has women who are looking to be EDs is www.surromomsonline.com.

I personally would never use a woman who is 37 years old for my ED. The main reason being is that her fertility is most likely greatly decreased by that age and you have a greater chance of ending up without a child. However if this is just the perfect woman and you have tons of money to spend on another cycle in case this one doesn't work with this person, then I would say go right ahead. Some women have been successful with donors that age, but you won't find any clinics that are any good accepting a donor that age.

Also the weight issue. You are more likely to have success with a ED or IVF cycle if you are a healthy weight. The clinic most likely will still go ahead with the procedure, but your chances for success are somewhat decreased if you are morbidly obese.

I tend find the stats on SART to be lower then what the clinics quote you, so I would just pick the one with highest stats and go from there.

IVF with ED has a very high success rate and if you stick around on this board long enough you'll hear lots of success stories.

Best wishes

Mama 2 one two year old via ED and a second on the way via ED

CTATigger · 02-03-2007, 08:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by missionbaby

I am just starting this and my surfing the boards has led to more questions than answers. I have lost both ovaries to monstrous ruptured cysts but still have my uterus, so IVF/DE here we come. How long does it take to get matched with an egg donor? Are there wait lists? I live in Chicago, any experiences with local donor agencies or RE's? Someone mentioned weight restrictions for IVF has anyone heard of this. I weigh 190 is that a problem? Does insurance cover the DE costs? I have a friend willing to donate but she is 37, would you reccomend this? People have suggested getting an IVF center with 70% + success rates but the SART site did not have any chicago area clinics with rates that high? I'm sorry, just overwhelmed, optimistic one minute then discouraged the next...TIA

***
It varies with picking a donor. At my clinic (PCRM in Portland, Oregon) there was a great selection of donors--no wait. But you will have to get testing done on you and your partner first. (bloodwork, HSG to check out your uterus, sperm analysis, etc. depending on your age). We live in Michigan but traveled to PCRM because of their great stats and were successful first try there with a little boy.
Have you looked at Advanced Fertility in Gurnee? I have a friend who went there from Michigan and was successful first try with twins. They seem to have high stats/good selection of donors.
I weighed more than you when I cycled. They won't turn you down due to weight.
No, I would never use a donor that is 37. Your fertility begins to decline at 30--I wouldn't use a donor over 30. Also, there are pros and cons to using a known donor vs. an anonymous donor.
Have you joined the MVED group (mothers via egg donation) at yahoogroups? It's a great group--very supportive and lots of advice.
Our state doesn't mandate insurance coverage for infertility issues. We had to pay out of pocket for everything except my meds. I hope you have better coverage in Illinois.
You have every reason to be optimistic about DE. I ADORE my son. He is 200% mine and if G-d suddenly said--hey, you can have a baby with your own eggs but you have to give him back I would say NO WAY, NO HOW!
I will pray that you get that baby you're longing for....
Baby blessings,
Christine
Mom to DS, 17 months old

**BC-donor** · 02-09-2007, 10:20 AM

LIke the others have said, things will vary greatly from clinic to clinic. Neither my DH or I was required to have ANY psychological testing/councelling done prior to doing our cycles. My RE's office has his own pool of donors, so you could look at the donor profiles the day of our consult & we were told that the average time frame of a DE cycle was 6-8w, from start to finish, depending on where you & the donor are in your cycles. Some cycles can be done faster than that, some longer. (for us, we transferred 3 weeks after we selected our donor!)

I would recommend going with a donor from your RE's office, rather than going through an agency. If money is no object, then an agency might not be a big deal. Using an agency can add anywhere from $5-10,000 (or more) to your costs. You may also still have to pay the donors fees on top of the agency fees. Also, donors through an agency get paid more money, which I personally think is ridiculously wrong. Donors through an agency can get any where from $5,000, to more than $10,000. Hardly a donation, IMHO. At most RE's offices, donors don't receive more than $3,000 for their donation/time/efforts.

It's wonderful that you have a friend willing to donate, however, no, I would not consider using eggs from a 37 yo donor. Although she might have good eggs, unfortunately you have no way of knowing how she'll respond or how good her quality would be until you cycled & that could end up being a very expensive risk to take.

I wouldn't recommend looking specifically for a clinic with 70% success rates because there aren't a lot of them out there. Try using this guide to help you locate a clinic that has good stats in your area. http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/ART2004/clinics04.asp This is the newest info out there because it usually takes a couple years for the CDC to gather all of the information from all the RE's, from all the cycles. Just make sure that the RE you're going to doesn't have crappy stats.

Don't be discouraged. It's overwhelming when you first get started, but stick with us & we'll help you through the confusing & rough spots. :groughug:

cs1984cs · 02-09-2007, 05:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by missionbaby

I am just starting this and my surfing the boards has led to more questions than answers. I have lost both ovaries to monstrous ruptured cysts but still have my uterus, so IVF/DE here we come. How long does it take to get matched with an egg donor?

It depends on how many characteristics you require; your twin will take forever to find, someone of your race only and healthy can take a few weeks to match; however, before you start cycling, if you go through an agency you can expect about a month before all the paperwork is done and your RE has okayed the person and reviewed her records if a previous donor.

I can't stress enough to look for healthy.

Quote:

Originally Posted by missionbaby

Are there wait lists?

Some RE do have them and some are first come first served.

Quote:

Originally Posted by missionbaby

I live in Chicago, any experiences with local donor agencies or RE's?

I've heard good things about CEO and Conceivabilities (nice folks) and bad things about ARR (nasty folks, never get back to you) which are three agencies in your area. I don't know about RE's, but you have to watch out for those that will use any woman with 2 legs rather than fertile donors.

URLs:
http://www.egg411.com/index.html
http://www.conceivabilities.com/
http://www.arr1.com/

Type of agencies:
1. they will let you look through any available profile and even those our of your area upon request
2. they will choose selected profiles but will be rather loose about it and still send you those who might not fit perfectly. They'll expand the search upon request
3. they will choose donors for you; you will not have access to profiles and they will stonewall you.

I dealt with type 1 and 3. Needless to say, I fired type 3, but only after 6 month of stonewalling... waste of time.

Ask up front, how they go about choosing profiles for you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by missionbaby

Someone mentioned weight restrictions for IVF has anyone heard of this. I weigh 190 is that a problem?

What you should look like is at your BMI not just your weight. Obesity can cause problem. There are articles about his; you probably can google them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by missionbaby

Does insurance cover the DE costs?

It will depends on your insurance; each one is different. Illinois is one the of the States which requires it, but some insurance companies put a money cap. In fact, check my signature and go sign the petition if you still want to have it in the future.

Quote:

Originally Posted by missionbaby

I have a friend willing to donate but she is 37, would you reccomend this?

She would have to be tested like any other donor. Most REs prefer young spring chickens

Mine won't go above 25 yo. However, after 35 yo, our ovaries don't produce as many and as good quality eggs. That is something you will have to talk with your RE about.

Quote:

Originally Posted by missionbaby

People have suggested getting an IVF center with 70% + success rates but the SART site did not have any chicago area clinics with rates that high?

Go read the first 3 posts of this link to know more about how to read the report and choose your clinic: http://www3.fertilethoughts.com/foru...d.php?t=396985

Looks like the 2004 report is out: http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/ART2004/clinics04.asp

Quote:

Originally Posted by missionbaby

I'm sorry, just overwhelmed, optimistic one minute then discouraged the next...TIA

That's perfectly normal; it's not an easy ride. Take heart and you can lean on us any time you want.

Good luck,

CS

missionbaby · 02-09-2007, 08:02 PM

Thank you all so much for your wisdom and encouragement it really has helped to calm down my anxiety. Things are starting to happen, first RE appt in a month, bw done, working on sperm analysis, donor agency appt...stuck at the cost of DE. Its good to know that there is hope.

donna123 · 02-10-2007, 08:20 AM

Hi and welcome, I'm a chicago gal, although I don't live in Chicago. I live in St. Louis and traveled to the Advanced fertility of Chicago (www.advancedfertility.com) in Gurnee Illinois to have treatment. I just finished my first fresh DE cycle. Now I'm 11 wks' PG with twins. CDC website only published data up to 2004. Their life birth rate for DE in 2005 was 73.1%. I'm very happy with them. I highly recommend this clinic.

Good luck!

Donna

02-03-2007, 04:58 PM	#1 (permalink)
missionbaby Registered User Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 4	Help New here Questions I am just starting this and my surfing the boards has led to more questions than answers. I have lost both ovaries to monstrous ruptured cysts but still have my uterus, so IVF/DE here we come. How long does it take to get matched with an egg donor? Are there wait lists? I live in Chicago, any experiences with local donor agencies or RE's? Someone mentioned weight restrictions for IVF has anyone heard of this. I weigh 190 is that a problem? Does insurance cover the DE costs? I have a friend willing to donate but she is 37, would you reccomend this? People have suggested getting an IVF center with 70% + success rates but the SART site did not have any chicago area clinics with rates that high? I'm sorry, just overwhelmed, optimistic one minute then discouraged the next...TIA

02-09-2007, 10:20 AM	#5 (permalink)
BC-donor 500-599 post 7 of hearts Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 587	LIke the others have said, things will vary greatly from clinic to clinic. Neither my DH or I was required to have ANY psychological testing/councelling done prior to doing our cycles. My RE's office has his own pool of donors, so you could look at the donor profiles the day of our consult & we were told that the average time frame of a DE cycle was 6-8w, from start to finish, depending on where you & the donor are in your cycles. Some cycles can be done faster than that, some longer. (for us, we transferred 3 weeks after we selected our donor!) I would recommend going with a donor from your RE's office, rather than going through an agency. If money is no object, then an agency might not be a big deal. Using an agency can add anywhere from $5-10,000 (or more) to your costs. You may also still have to pay the donors fees on top of the agency fees. Also, donors through an agency get paid more money, which I personally think is ridiculously wrong. Donors through an agency can get any where from $5,000, to more than $10,000. Hardly a donation, IMHO. At most RE's offices, donors don't receive more than $3,000 for their donation/time/efforts. It's wonderful that you have a friend willing to donate, however, no, I would not consider using eggs from a 37 yo donor. Although she might have good eggs, unfortunately you have no way of knowing how she'll respond or how good her quality would be until you cycled & that could end up being a very expensive risk to take. I wouldn't recommend looking specifically for a clinic with 70% success rates because there aren't a lot of them out there. Try using this guide to help you locate a clinic that has good stats in your area. http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/ART2004/clinics04.asp This is the newest info out there because it usually takes a couple years for the CDC to gather all of the information from all the RE's, from all the cycles. Just make sure that the RE you're going to doesn't have crappy stats. Don't be discouraged. It's overwhelming when you first get started, but stick with us & we'll help you through the confusing & rough spots. :groughug: __________________ Multiple DE cycles, finally successful

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02-03-2007, 06:54 PM	#2 (permalink)
kellyrn 900-999 post jack of hearts Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: NJ Posts: 931	Hello Missionbaby!!! I am in the beginning stages of DE as well. I have had PGD done with my last IVF cycle and it's pretty much kaput with my eggs too. On my initial consultation, I was told that it could take like 3-6mos for a match. However, there are SEVERAL hoops that you must go through first (and money up front) before they will even let you see a current donor list. I am at the finish line right now for being eligible to see the list, and to have them start looking. (Our initial consult was on 1/4--if that gives you a good time frame). You need to update any labs that they require for you and dh, get a baseline mammogram, pap smears and cervical cultures, recent semen analysis, etc. Then you need to go through psychological eval, orientation to program, then look at the donor list. My psych eval and orientation day is this Wednesday, so I'll let you know how that goes!!! I go to Saint Barnabus in Livingston NJ. Their success rate is 70%. I have not heard of weight being a factor. As far as insurance, BCBS for me-will cover the donors cycle, labs and retreival, but not the evaluation work up to get into the program itself. The total cost I was given was $12K. $4 for her "work-up", and $8 for her compensation. A lot of money, I know. But still cheaper than adoption, which is twice the cost. Plus, it still gets to at least be a part of dh, which is comforting. I wish you the best of luck. Keep in touch. I'm no expert at this, but I'll be glad to share whatever I know!!!

02-03-2007, 08:14 PM	#3 (permalink)
mama2one Registered User Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Atlanta Posts: 82	Mission baby, Well first of all you are very lucky in one respect. Since you leave in the wonderful state of IL (which I assume you do) your insurance company is required to pay for at least four cycles of IVF. I'm not sure how DE fits in there, but it is definitely worht checking out. As far as finding an RE in Chicago, I have heard wonderful things about the Chicago clinics (although I haven't been to one myself). I can't think of the exact names of them, but I have a very good friend who is now a mother thanks to the great work of one of those clinics. All DE programs work differently. Typically you and your husband willl both have to undergo a psycological evaluation. Then you will have to have bloodwork drawn to make sure neither of you has an STD. They may also want to do some bloodwork to check your hormone levels. Then they will do an ultrasound of your uterus to see what is going on in there. We did DE through our REs office and it was wonderful. They had a book full of women who wanted to do DE and most were ready to go as soon as we were ready to go. We got to see a picture of the woman and her children. We also got to know her height, weight, family medical history, college education, etc. There are several ways you can go about finding an ED. One way (and I would say the best way) is to go through your REs office. This way you know all of the candidates have had a psychological evaluation, and had bloodwork to make sure they are candidates for donation. You can also go through and agency that handles egg donors, but I have heard some really bad things about these agencies taking people's money with no results. Then the last thing you can do is try to find an ED on your own. Again this is risky and can cost you alot of money and pain in the long run if you get someone who is not honest and trustworthy. One site that has women who are looking to be EDs is www.surromomsonline.com. I personally would never use a woman who is 37 years old for my ED. The main reason being is that her fertility is most likely greatly decreased by that age and you have a greater chance of ending up without a child. However if this is just the perfect woman and you have tons of money to spend on another cycle in case this one doesn't work with this person, then I would say go right ahead. Some women have been successful with donors that age, but you won't find any clinics that are any good accepting a donor that age. Also the weight issue. You are more likely to have success with a ED or IVF cycle if you are a healthy weight. The clinic most likely will still go ahead with the procedure, but your chances for success are somewhat decreased if you are morbidly obese. I tend find the stats on SART to be lower then what the clinics quote you, so I would just pick the one with highest stats and go from there. IVF with ED has a very high success rate and if you stick around on this board long enough you'll hear lots of success stories. Best wishes Mama 2 one two year old via ED and a second on the way via ED

02-09-2007, 08:02 PM	#7 (permalink)
missionbaby Registered User Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 4	Thank you all so much for your wisdom and encouragement it really has helped to calm down my anxiety. Things are starting to happen, first RE appt in a month, bw done, working on sperm analysis, donor agency appt...stuck at the cost of DE. Its good to know that there is hope.

02-10-2007, 08:20 AM	#8 (permalink)
donna123 Registered User Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 77	Hi and welcome, I'm a chicago gal, although I don't live in Chicago. I live in St. Louis and traveled to the Advanced fertility of Chicago (www.advancedfertility.com) in Gurnee Illinois to have treatment. I just finished my first fresh DE cycle. Now I'm 11 wks' PG with twins. CDC website only published data up to 2004. Their life birth rate for DE in 2005 was 73.1%. I'm very happy with them. I highly recommend this clinic. Good luck! Donna