donor agency

[CJ29]

I need some help with which agency to work with. I am in new york and I have been looking at a few agencies CA. I am not sure if that is the way to go because I live in NY. I dont know which RE I am going use yet either. I cant find one I like , I hear IVFNJ has best stats. Has anyone used I DE agency in NY? Is it better to use a donor from your RE ? I would really like to meet the donor it seems that agencies are more flexible is that true?

[Mom_2_One]

Hi,
I'm not sure that IVFNJ has the "best" stats. Oregon Reproductive Medicine (ORM) and San Diego Fertility Center may have better stats. Check them all out on Fertility Clinic Reports.

I really like the Donor Source as an agency. They had a great selection of donors and the case manager I worked with was extremely efficient and proffessional. After checking out many agencies all over the country, but mostly in California, I decided to go with an agency called Options in Conception. I chose to go with them because they are associated with a small clinic that I found out about in Irvine CA called the Reproductive Fertility Center. RFC has EXCELLENT stats (better than 85% live birth rate) I also decided to go with them because I won't have to travel, but I would have traveled in order to find the right situation. I did contact IVFNJ. They have good stats, but there are clinics with better numbers.

I did not request to meet my donor up front, but I did ask only to work with women who would be willing to be contacted by my child in the future should our cycle be successful. When I found a clinic or an agency I was intrested in, I'd ask them if it would be possible to contact my donor at some point. If the clinic was not open to helping me find a donor open to contact, I would contact a different clinic or agency. I found the agencies to be more flexible with agreeing to facilitate semi-open arrangements, but some clinics were also willing.

I have found a donor through Options in Conception. We created a means by which to contact our donr and wrote it into the legal contract. Our donor has agreed to become a life long memeber of the Donor Sibling Registry in the event that we have a live birth so that we can contact her in the future if there is a medical emergency or if our child would want to meet her once the child becomes 18 years old. My husband and I will pay for her life long membership fee, which is only $150.00. If our donor does not join or update her info regularly, she would be in breach of the contract. So, I feel confindent that we'll be able to find her in the future if we ever need to. My husband and I will also join the registry so, it's possible that we might even be able to meet siblings in the event that our donor ever works with other families.

Good luck with your seach...It's hard work, but it will pay off in the end. Don't be afraid to turn down something that doesn't seem right. I had to turn down several tempting situations before we found something that truly matched our needs finacially and otherwise. I think in all, it took about 6-8 weeks of constant phone calls, emails and internet surfing before we landed a situation that felt right.