Why we chose Embryo Donation

My husband and I never imagined that I would have trouble getting pregnant. I had two children from
my previous marriage and had no issues conceiving them. So twenty years later, when we were told by my fertility specialist that I had extremely low egg reserves, we were surprised. We were also told that we were not candidates for IVF and that egg donation was our only option. However, once we started pricing the costs associated with egg donation, we quickly realized that the hefty price would make reaching our goal quite challenging.

Around the same time, we were planning a trip to Europe to attend my step daughter's wedding in Greece. While arranging our travel, I happened to come across an article online discussing affordable
IVF abroad. The article discussed how many US couples are foregoing expensive IVF treatments in the United States for less expensive IVF options in Europe. After numerous internet searches, we learned that a number of options were available in some European countries. 

Due to my husband being in his later fifties, we had already started to consider whether embryo donation  might be best for us. We knew that we could love a child without regard to any
genetic connections. So when we learned that clinics in the Czech Republic and Spain offered anonymous embryo donation, we immediately knew that this was the best option for us.

 Embryo Donation Articles: 

Egg Donation in European Clinics

Donor Embryos: US or Abroad?

 

In the US, many couples who can no longer afford or no longer want to store their embryo's will donate them to couples trying to conceive. However, because these couples had difficulty conceiving as well, these embryo's may not always be of good quality. Therefore, it may take several attempts before a successful transfer will result in a pregnancy. There's also a very good possibility that none of the donated embryo's will take. 

Each state in the US also has its own laws regarding embryo donation. For example, here in my home state of Ohio, it is called "Embryo Adoption." A couple donating their embryo can require that the recipient of the egg go through the same process that would apply if you were adopting a child. This involves interviews, adoption classes and home visits before any possibility of approval. Furthermore, in Ohio it is also not as easy to acquire embryos. You can contact a fertility specialist to see if they have any clients who are interested in donating embryos. Alternatively, you can contact one of the private organizations who help individuals locate an embryo. Either way, you have to locate a couple who are willing to pass on their embryo. Sometimes these donors want to be able to have contact with your child after it is born. These are obviously challenging issues. 

In the Czech Republic and Spain, egg and sperm donors are anonymous.  There are plenty of donors, and the donors must be by law no older than thirty-five. The screening of donors is also very rigorous. They are screened for both sexually transmitted and genetic diseases, and must undergo psychological counseling.  There are also no waiting lists because there are so many donor.

European clinics offering anonymous embryo donation: 

Czech Republic

Reprogensis

Zlin

IVF Cube 

Praga Medica  

Reprofit

Sanus

 Spain

Institut Marques

Barcelona IVF

We hope that by sharing our story, we can help other couples in similar circumstances.  

Why we chose Reprofit

Hello Everyone,

In selecting a clinic, we ultimately chose Reprofit in the Czech Republic for the following reasons:

1) When researching clinics throughout Europe, we found many favorable reviews for Reprofit on a

number of fertility discussion boards. We asked the people who had posted about their experiences

and we were able to compile a lot of information about the experiences that these people had with

Reprofit. We soon came to believe that the level of medical care in the Czech Republic was every bit as good as the care that we might receive here in America.

 2) We also learned that, unlike America, embryo adoption in the Czech Republic is completely anonymous. There is no fear that we would ever be contacted by either the egg donor or sperm donor. There were also no contracts to sign or home visits to endure.

3) The embryos are created using donated eggs and sperm from anonymous donors. The donors go through a lengthy screening process and are all under the age of 32. Furthermore, we learned that Reprofit does not use “left- over” embryos from a couples’ IVF cycle.

4) Reprofit has no “waiting period”. This made arranging the procedure around my vacation time much easier.

5) All of our appointments were scheduled through a third party consultant (Miracles Waiting), which

facilitated making communications with the clinic.

6) Reprofit was significantly more affordable, even after factoring in a.) the cost of travel and b.) the

fact that we had to make the trip twice because our first visit was not successful. We were able to save money on our second visit through a “Shared Risk” program that “Miracles Waiting” has with the clinic.

7.) While I do not know the current costs charged by the clinic, my cost was approximately $ 2500.00 for the first visit. Because I had to return a second time, I was was charged $1500.00 for the second visit.

8.) Finally, while you should check current pricing for flights, my travel costs amounted to about $2000.00 for airfare to and from and about $500.00 for ground transportation. I can’t provide you with exact figures for my two trips because we included a bit of a vacation. But suffice it to say that the cost and quality of hotels in Europe are comparable to those here in America. You do want to book ahead in order to get the best price.

9. And finally, do not be afraid of any language barriers. Apparently, English has become the international language of business. Every hotel desk clerk we met in Europe spoke English as did most cab drivers and restaurant servers. So did most shopkeepers and police officers. And the majority of Doctors and staff at Reprofit were fully fluent as well.

8 Months Later - A Baby!

Hello Everyone,

It's been eight months since my last post.  I apologize for the hiatus. After we returned from the Czech Republic, five days after our embryo transfer, my husband and I found out we were pregnant! I had hoped to continue writing about my experience during the pregnancy. However, we had some complications in the beginning which became more serious toward the end of the pregnancy.  We decided it was best to focus on the pregnancy and resume writing after our daughter was born.

Thankfully, our daughter, Arlena, was born on June 12th at 10:44 pm.  She was 5lbs 10 oz. and 17 1/2 inches long.  She is the light of our lives and a complete joy! We will never be able to thank Reprofit enough for everything they've done for us.  We also hope that by sharing our most blessed news, that we may be able to help others affected by infertility.

Our goal for this blog is to continue writing about the fertility options available throughout Europe, so that we can spread the word and help other couples  make their dreams of having a child come true.