Anonymous wrote:I did a frozen donor egg cycle at GW. I got pregnant, but miscarried (which isn't necessarily because of the eggs). We also chose a donor through Fairfax Eggbank who would want future contact. The two egg banks we looked at (The World Egg Bank and Fairfax Eggbank) also have opportunities to get multiple donor eggs for those who want to go for a sibling. Of course, the price isn't cheap.

Thank you! We are now thinking of frozen instead of fresh simply because it seems easier in terms of knowing how many eggs you will get, buying multiple lots, and knowing right away who is open to future contact. Definitely looking at Fairfax and Donor Egg Bank USA. Haven't quite chosen a clinic yet....

I did a frozen donor egg cycle at GW. I got pregnant, but miscarried (which isn't necessarily because of the eggs). We also chose a donor through Fairfax Eggbank who would want future contact. The two egg banks we looked at (The World Egg Bank and Fairfax Eggbank) also have opportunities to get multiple donor eggs for those who want to go for a sibling. Of course, the price isn't cheap.

OP here. Thank you PP, that is exactly how I feel. I want to honor the donor's wishes from the start. Since this is not possible through using a fresh donor at SGF, I feel like I can't use that clinic. And, I want to make the path to the donor, if needed in the future, as easy as possible for my kids.

“I'd be curious to hear what others say about various clinics, but we've started the process with SGF. You have to speak to a psychologist/social worker as part of the process and in that conversation, she pointed out that it's becoming more difficult to remain anonymous these days. Not an answer to your question, but something to think about!”

PP here. It’s true that it is difficult for donors to remain anonymous. But, if they signed up to be anonymous, then that should be honored. Just because you can figure out the donors identity doesn’t mean that they will be open to a relationship if you come knocking at their door years later. If you want a relationship with the donor then go with a donor that wanted that when they donated.

We used fresh donor eggs at SGF and I got pregnant in the first cycle

Anonymous wrote:We did a fresh donor cycle w/ Columbia. We intentionally chose a donor who was willing to be contacted when the kids reached age 18. That narrowed the donor pool for us a bit but it was important to us.

We also prioritized choosing a proven donor (who had kids of her own and prior donor cycles that resulted in live births.)

In the end, her cycle with us was her most disappointing in terms of yield, so I sometimes wonder whether we would have had more blasts, and therefore another child or two, if we had gone with our other top choice - who wasn't a proven donor. The woulda/couldas never end!

Good luck OP!

Thank you! This information is really helpful. I looked into columbia, but their SART data wasn't great. I realize that it should be only one piece of the equation here. I'm glad to hear that someone has had success with them. I've had experiences with Dr. Sacks and I really, really liked him. And yes, the shoulda/woulda/couldas never end!! What a great way to put it!!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd be curious to hear what others say about various clinics, but we've started the process with SGF. You have to speak to a psychologist/social worker as part of the process and in that conversation, she pointed out that it's becoming more difficult to remain anonymous these days. Not an answer to your question, but something to think about!

Thanks for your reply! Totally agree about the inability to be completely anonymous. We're hoping to make the path to donor info as easy as possible, if it's needed (maybe it never will be and the kids won't care, who knows?). Are you using a fresh or frozen cycle with SG?

Not decided yet. I'm also looking into egg donor agencies, which just adds so much to the cost. I worry about frozen eggs not leaving us with many blasts, but we already have an OE child, so we know we only want one more child. So many things to think about!

We did a fresh donor cycle w/ Columbia. We intentionally chose a donor who was willing to be contacted when the kids reached age 18. That narrowed the donor pool for us a bit but it was important to us.

We also prioritized choosing a proven donor (who had kids of her own and prior donor cycles that resulted in live births.)

In the end, her cycle with us was her most disappointing in terms of yield, so I sometimes wonder whether we would have had more blasts, and therefore another child or two, if we had gone with our other top choice - who wasn't a proven donor. The woulda/couldas never end!

Good luck OP!

Anonymous wrote:Went with SGF for fresh donor cycle (used a shared donor that was converted from 1:3 to 1:2). We were in the second position and ended up with 10 high quality embryos - transferred one and have a healthy, happy baby. Good luck, OP.

Thanks and good luck to you as well!

Went with SGF for fresh donor cycle (used a shared donor that was converted from 1:3 to 1:2). We were in the second position and ended up with 10 high quality embryos - transferred one and have a healthy, happy baby. Good luck, OP.

Anonymous wrote:I'd be curious to hear what others say about various clinics, but we've started the process with SGF. You have to speak to a psychologist/social worker as part of the process and in that conversation, she pointed out that it's becoming more difficult to remain anonymous these days. Not an answer to your question, but something to think about!

Thanks for your reply! Totally agree about the inability to be completely anonymous. We're hoping to make the path to donor info as easy as possible, if it's needed (maybe it never will be and the kids won't care, who knows?). Are you using a fresh or frozen cycle with SG?

I'd be curious to hear what others say about various clinics, but we've started the process with SGF. You have to speak to a psychologist/social worker as part of the process and in that conversation, she pointed out that it's becoming more difficult to remain anonymous these days. Not an answer to your question, but something to think about!

Has anyone has success using a fresh donor egg cycle and if so, which clinic did you use? According to SART data, Shady Grove seems to have the best success rates in the area, but requires all of their donors to be anonymous. We just want our kids to be able to have contact if needed once they are 18. We have been considering GIVF and have also met with Dominion.

We're not against using frozen eggs, but were hoping for two full siblings which is why a fresh cycle has been recommended to us.