Donor Egg Treatment in Spain

[janeah]

Hi everyone,

This is my first posting so am not too sure what to do!


We have just returned from IM in Barcelona where we were going to have IVF using donor sperm (my DP had vasectomy many years ago and PESA failed)

Unfortunately we didn't get very far as my cycle was cancelled due to poor / no response to stimming

As my response was so bad we are considering Donor Egg / sperm - I am 41 in November and fear that my chances using own eggs are minimal.

Has anyone else tried the Donor Egg route with IM or other clinic in Spain and if so what was the outcome?

Really appreciate any info.

Janeah

[AMck]

Hi Janeah
Sorry to see your cycle was cancelled. I was in the same position with a very poor response to stimming meds. We went to IM in Barcelona and had donor egg tmt. The first transfer with two embies resulted in a BFN, but the second one with three embies gave us a BFP. We are now 14 weeks 5days pg!!

If you decide to go the egg donor route and have any questions about IM I would be happy to help.

Good luck
Hugs
Anna

[janeah]

Hi Anna,

Great news on your BFP - I am so pleased for you.

Did you wait long for DE transfer after starting taking your pills? We have just returned after 2 weeks in Spain (as thought we would be there for the entire cycle) so am a little worried about getting time off work again if they line up a donor really quickly (but want to move ahead staright away too!). Also did you have any problems with getting your endo scan done in the UK - I have read that some hospitals try and make you pay for treatment that you don't need.

Out of interest, were you offered the IM Egg Donation refund program (where you pay Euro30,000 for up to 3 cycles with a 70% refund if not pregnant after the third treatment )? As we would be starting the treatment almost straight away we are unsure which is the best way to go - a single treatment or the 3 cycle option. To some degree the 'pressure is off' by going the 3 cycle route but it is an awful lot of money to find and we would be constrained to having all treatments within 18 months.

Sorry for all the questions.

Best wishes

Janeah

[AMck]

Hi Janeah

In answer to your questions...
We didn't wait very long at all for our DE. No more than a couple of weeks. Time off work was a problem for us too. I invented a crushing migraine and a sister who needed help! I probably deserve an oscar for my very convincing performances!!!!

I had already had many scans and attempted IVF cycles at a clinic near home so when it came to getting a scan done for Barcelona they were only to happy to help. You only need one scan to check the lining of the womb. My clinic did it straight away and I haven't had a bill yet.

I also have a very sympathetic GP who supported me throughout my treatment. I would give you some advice regarding medication after a BFP. The meds you need can be difficult to obtain in England. IM will only give you enough to last until just after a BFP, so you will need to get more. It's oestrogen patches and progesterone suppositories. My advice would be to buy them from IM if you can. Even if you get a BFN your mind will be at rest that you already have the meds. Other girls have had to order them over the internet which I was not very happy doing. My GP gave me a prescription for mine but not all GP's are so helpful. She also got into trouble with her Primary Care trust for prescribing such expensive drugs. It may be worth talking to your GP before you go???

We were offered the Egg Donor refund scheme but really couldn't afford to pay so much money up front.

I must admit that when the donor is ready you don't get much notice. We had a call on a Tuesday and they wanted us on the Thursday...so be prepared for a quick getaway!

Hope this helps....Wishing you loads of luck...any more questions just let me know

Take care
Anna x

[janeah]

Hi Anna,

Thanks for the message - looks like I'll just have to go for that 'best supporting actress' award!

We have pretty much decided to go for the single treatment route (we had set aside the money to pay for a full IVF cycle but as that was cancelled we are kind of in front). Hopefully we will get a donor before end Nov so that we can have treatment early Dec and will know outcome mid Dec - then at least we can enjoy X-mas, whatever the outcome, and then try again in the New Year.

Thanks for tipping me off about the drugs - I will definitely ask IM about that - all I have right now from them are 21 pills so I need to contact them about all the drugs I will need once (if!?) AF starts. We don't really know our GP - due to my age we couldn't get treatment on the NHS so our only contact with our GP was for a referral letter to the clinic and some blood tests, luckily though they have a wonderful nurse who was brilliant with all the injections. Our clinic is quite a way away so I will try another one nearer from the scan but (hopefully) it doesn't sound like it will be a problem - chose our clinic due to their good IVF results but with failed PESA / donor sperm crisis there was really nothing they could do for us hence IM.

Thanks again for the message and seeing your result really gives me hope!

Best wishes

Janeah

[AMck]

Janeah, just wanted to say wishing you lots of luck with this cycle.

If you are lucky at IM you will meet the absolutely delicious Dr Olivares...yummy!!

Fingers crossed for that donor Would love to hear your news and how you get on, keep in touch!

Bye for now
Anna

[Kat]

Hi Janeah

Just wanted to second what Anna says - I had nothing but good experiences with IM and if I had tmt again that is where I would go. And yes, Dr Olivares is yummy!

I had trouble getting my GP to prescribe the patches and in the end my original clinic sorted out a prescription for me.

We didn't go for the refund scheme either - too much money upfront. And I would have qualified as having a pregnancy in their eyes even though it didn't last, so probably wouldn't have got any money back anyway.

Lastly we also had to make a quick getaway, phone call Friday lunchtime to say we were needed Sunday morning!! This was because DH had to give a fresh sample though. From starting the pills to ET was about 4 weeks from what I remember.

Best of luck with whatever you decide to do - come and join us on the over 40 thread on the general forum for a chat sometime...

love
Kat xx

[CarolynB]

Ladies

Approaching 4-1 so starting to look into donor eggs so that we have a Plan B. I am drawn to IM (not sure why - must have read about it somewhere) so came on here to start checking out your feedback.

janeah - I am sorry that your cycle was cancelled - so frustrating & disappointing. Good luck for your next steps

Anna - congratulations - hope that you are enjoying being pregnant

Kat - nice to read your feedback too. I really hope that this is your cycle

Don't think that we would go for the recovery programme as just so much money up front.

Please would you be able to let me know about how much for a single cycle at IM with donor eggs? Realise that we will need to fund travel and drugs on top.

One more question, what is the approx. waiting time to get a first appointment?

Many thanks for your help.
Lots of Luck to you all
Carolyn

[AMck]

Hi Caroline

Just thought I'd try and answer your questions about IM.

The total cost of one IVF cycle at IM was about £7000. That includes all medication needed until BFP. THis is more expensive than , say, Kiev. You could get 2 cycles there for that price. Also, they don't seem to stimulate their donors to a high degree, meaning that there were no eggs to freeze and that we had to start again and find another £7000 for our second attempt. I don't know of anyone else's experience with this but it is a consideration when you have to find all that money!!!

We didn't have to wait more than two weeks for the initial appointment. You can pretty much choose when to go and fit it in with your own schedule/commitments.

We used lastminute.com for our flights and got reasonable deals. There are plenty of hotels near to the clinic, you can choose how much you want to pay. IM recommended one nearby for us. It was mid range and only a five minute walk. That was important for me as I wanted to be able to go and lie down straight after ET without worrying about getting a taxi/bus.

If you need anymore info let me know. Hope this has been useful.

Hi to Janeah, how are you? Have things progressed?

Loads of luck
Anna x

[CarolynB]

Hi Anna

Sorry have not got back here to see your response for a whole week. Pretty busy right now with work and trying not to obsess about my next ivf cycle too much!!

The information is v v helpful indeed. Thank you for taking the time to share the info that you have. Another quesion if you don't mind. Can I ask why you selected to go for IM if the cost is twice as high as say Kiev? Where there particular factors that made you think that it was a good place to go?

Amazing that you have to wait such a short period of time for the appointment and can pick a time. I am so used to having to wait weeks and weeks even when private in the UK and having to accept whatever time slot me & dh are offered how ever inconvenient!

Hope that you are feeling well. You must be very excited now that you are so far along.

Thanks again
Carolyn