My eggs VS Donor eggs

[tmg]

Hi there,
This is my first posting on any msg board.

My husband and I have been trying to have a child for 7 yrs. now. Yes, that's SEVEN. Two miscarrages, testicular cancer, and radiation treatment later. . . During the seven years have been through various tests and told that we were both fine so we just kept trying. We finally put our foot down and went to a fertility clinic. The real story is that his sperm has low count, motility, and they only survive for 24 hrs. The doctor recomended IVF with ICSI. I'm now 40yrs. old. I am healthy and my FSH count is good for any age, not just a 40 yr. old. I haven't had anything wrong with me during this and now I'm faced with the question of using my own eggs or someone elses.

Here's the kicker. My husband and I have agreed that we will just do this once. So, the question is do we use my eggs which by all accounts seem to be healthy but we still just have a 30% success rate OR do we use donor eggs with a 60% + success rate.

Is there any one else who has faced a similiar decision?

[/code][/list]

[dreambaby]

I have a chromosome condition that effects my eggs. We go back and forth with using mine or a donor. I don't know what to tell you. It's a difficult decision. If you think this will be your ONLY shot at having a baby then I would go with a donor. Good luck to you!

[ICSI GIRL]

YEOW.....tough decision.........although i can't offer any advice (as this is my first go at ivf cycle and don't have nearly the issues/obstacles you've had) --- wanted to say GOOD LUCK.....hope your story ends the story book way

[Ghost]

Great topic. The advantages of donor cycles are not only that they can have a more ideal egg source, but also that the embryos are transferred into a patient whose endometrium was not just disturbed by ovarian stimulation.

If you have a good response to stimulation, you may get enough embryos to also have some for use as thawed embryos. That's on top of the chance of success in the fresh cycle.

The value comparison is not merely in the pregnancy rates. I'm sure you would love any child you carry and birth. No question. But we each decide for ourselves what "value" there is in our children resembing us. "She has your eyes" sort of thing. Some would give this more value than others. Some may not care.

[JADE0199]

Hi
I thought I would be a good candidate to reply since I've also tried to conceived naturally, had 3 early m/c's and one chemical pg since trying in Sept 05. Have also done one cycle of IVF with ICSI (PGD cancelled on Day 2). Transferred 2 excellent looking embies (1-7 cell Grade B and 1-5 cell Grade A (the best) which ended in a BFN. We only chose to do IVF because of doing PGD for recurrent m/c's, not for male factor. Either way, its a good option. Now we are onto Donor Eggs for our next cycle. I have no regrets in doing one cycle with IVF, but the circumstances were very different in that my insurance covered 90% of the cycle and we had high hopes in doing PGD and stims helping me ovulate better quality eggs. However, if we knew that we only had ONE chance, we probably would have went right to donor.

I am so sorry that you have had to endure such a difficult journey, 7 years is a long time, I know that we are coming up on two years and it feels like we've been trying to get pg forever!!

DE is a difficult decision and primarily lies as to how important your genetics that you will or will not pass down to your future child or children. For me, it was not that important but rather carrying a child to term was far greater an importance than my genetics. However, it was very important to DH that the child have his genetics. In the end, I will ultimately be the biological mother and will bond with the baby inside.

I am not sure what the exact success rate in doing IVF is, I believe it was 30% for me when we did it, I was 36 yo. But I think it is a little less at age 40. The success rate is very high for DE and as Ghost mentioned, the endometrium is not disturbed/affected by ovarian stimulation. Apparently, the uterus is far more receptive when not undergoing stims and is controlled and prepared by fertility medication such as Delestrogen and PIO when doing a DE cycle.

If you do have any questions regarding DE, I'd be more than happy to help or share my experience.

Best of Luck to you!
Cathy