Moving From IVF To A Donor Egg Cycle-Some Important Considerations

Making the decision to opt for In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) or any fertility treatment is a huge life changing decision. When a couple or person has made this decision the hope is that the treatment will be successful as soon as possible and that there will be no more difficult decisions to be made. IVF can be seen as a 3 step process of: stimulation, egg collection and embryo transfer, which is often less complicated than some may expect. There will be times however where individuals or couples will have no choice but to face making a fresh decision on their fertility journey.

Sometimes it may be the most viable route to consider a transition from In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) to a donor egg cycle. Emotionally this is a huge amount to take on as of course it means that the potential genetics of a baby who may be conceived will change to being either 50% related to the couple or with no genetic relationship in the case of a sperm donor being used. Let's look at some of the main reasons that people could consider this transition.

Some Reasons Why You May Consider A Transition from In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) to a Donor Egg Cycle
• No viable pregnancy resulting from multiple IVF cycles
• Recurrent unexplained miscarriages
• Advancing or advanced maternal age
• Very few or no eggs have been produced in spite of using fertility medication
• Unexplained infertility
• Medical or genetic diseases by the intended mother
• Chromosomal abnormalities which may occur due to pregnancy

These are some of the possible reasons that a person or couple could be facing the decision about transitioning from IVF to an egg donation cycle.

Transition from In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) to a Donor Egg Cycle-Some Considerations
Like any important decision you will want to consider all your options carefully. For some people the aspect of genetics is very central to having a child whereas for others this may not be the central consideration, but more so just the possibility of having and rearing a child as their own.

Actually it is best to take the first step which is checking with the doctor as to whether you have a normal uterus and will be able to carry a pregnancy to full term (at least in theory).

Once this is confirmed then the main options you may consider are:
• Whether to continue on regular IVF cycles for a bit longer using your own eggs
• If you will transition to a donor egg IVF cycle
• If you will adopt instead
• Living without children

Transition from In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) to a Donor Egg Cycle-An Extremely Personal Decision
It is hard to imagine any decisions that could be as personal and difficult as this. At a time like this although it may seem obvious and too simple, it is a good idea to re-visit the real reasons of what is important to you about being a parent. These considerations will be central as to what routes could be viable and acceptable to you.

By weighing up your innermost, honest, basic motivations about parenting along with the medical possibilities, then you can hopefully feel your way to making the right decision for you about moving from IVF to a donor egg cycle and take the next step forward-feeling good about your decision.


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Jackie writes about moving from IVF to a donor egg cycle for the blog of Clinica Fertia, an international fertility clinic Spain. Clinica Fertia provides and IVF (in-vitro fertilisation) treatments and a range of other fertility treatments. Call +34 952 59 23 23 or visit their site http://www.clinicafertia.com/en.html