Sorry to be MIA//Update on me/Question about DE!!

mainesmichelle · December 2010

Hey Ladies,

Sorry to be MIA lately but between work and the holidays- life has been crazy..

I hope everyone had a great holiday and no one is still snowed in!!

Little udpate on me- I just found out that my twin sister is not a candidate for DE so I am off to anonymous. The clinic that I am speaking with RBA of Atlanta has two programs- Fresh DE or Egg Bank.

Basically if you do a Fresh DE all of the eggs retrieved during the cycle are yours to do with whatever, but you have to take the good and bad that goes along with the cycle. For example, if the donor only produces 10 good eggs that cycle that is all you get, if only 5 fertilized that?s all you get. The doctor did say if the cycle is a bust that RBA would make good on it, but basically it?s a leap of faith- the cycle starts at $25K.

The second option is a Frozen Egg Bank- basically for $16,500 you are guaranteed 2-3 perfect blast to transfer. I could get a package of 5 tries 2-3 blast a time and if it doesn?t work a portion of the money would be returned- this runs $36,500.

Both methods, I would be able to pick out of the pool of applicants and decide whom I would want to use. The fresh cycle could take up to 6mths depending on the donor we choose and the Frozen Egg bank is immediate.

With all of that, my question is for the ladies who have used or considering DE did you have the two options? What did you find helped you make the decision? We are all OOP and have already dropped about $25k in previous IVF?s. Any insight would be greatly appreciated- I feel like every decision I have made in the last year has been the wrong one!!

I HATE IF!!

TIA,

Michelle

madelyn07 · December 2010

I don't have any advice to offer but I'm sorry it isn't going to work with your sister.

Sounds like you have some great options and a lot to think about!

JM1977 · December 2010

Congratulations on moving forward! Sounds like you have some good options.

A couple of questions:

Do they have any shared risk/split cycle options in the fresh DE program?

In the frozen program, do you have the option of transferring 1 embryo and saving the other 1-2 for a FET, or do you just get 1 transfer (regardless of the number of embryos) for that price?

Are the success rates that same in the fresh and frozen programs?

mamabear7 · December 2010

First of all, sorry it didn't work out with your sister. I'm sure that's been frustrating.

At our clinic we didn't have the option for egg bank transfer. We did originally discuss embryo adoption and my RE said he felt our chances were better with a fresh DE because typically during procedures, they transfer the best looking embryos and freeze the rest. So basically what was frozen, wasn't the best. I'm not sure if that logic holds true for egg banks or not.

I will say, if you do decide to do a fresh DE cycle, I would definitely find a proven donor that has resulted in pregnancy AND has frozens. The clinic should be able to give you that information.

To me, the $16,500 for 2-3 blasts (are you getting eggs or embryos?) seems really expensive. I guess not all fresh DE cycle turn out well, but considering you could get 20 plus eggs, have a good fert rate, transfer 2 and have some to freeze, it seems the fresh cycle seems better.

Although I'm probably biased because I feel like we had a really good cycle

Have you looked into a shared risk program at your clinic? That might be another option.

GL!

theworms · December 2010

sorry it didn't work out with your sister.

i'm sure the DE ladies will have lots of great info.

GL & PPV with whichever route you choose

njohnson1972 · December 2010

I believe Gymdogfran used RBA frozen egg bank. I am having a hard time remembering if it was her or someone else, but someone on here definitely did use them. I actually considered them since I am from Atlanta.

I also believe their success rate is 70-80% with the frozen eggs. What I didn't like was that you don't get to see pictures of the donors. I understand they do it for the donor's privacy.

At my clinic in Houston, a DE fresh cycle is $19,000 plus meds. My clinic offers a shared DE fresh cycle for $11,500 plus 1/2 meds. You split the eggs with another couple.

I will be doing DE for a second child - it took me 4 cycles just to get this one baby - I am not doing that again at 40 years old. I will probably do DE at my clinic. I only want one more child, so we may still do a shared cycle since I hope to avoid having extra embryos. I also now have insurance coverage (changed plans for 2011) that will cover everything but the Donor's fee.

Good luck.

MarriedaSportsNut · December 2010

I am the only person on this board (that I know of) who has had 2 donor failures. Knowing what I know now, and knowing that I will most likely have to go for a third try with a new donor, I'd go for the frozen egg deal for $36k, if and only if it's a take-home baby guarantee, not a pregnancy guarantee. A fresh cycle is such a roller coaster that I can't see myself ever doing that again. Even choosing a stellar donor doesn't mean you'll get a stellar cycle, let alone frosties. With that frozen egg deal, at least you know how many blasts you'll get. Yeah you could do the $16.5 deal (and I've thought of doing that myself) but you're screwed if it doesn't work. The $36k deal is news to me and although it's a crapload of money, it does buy you multiple guaranteed tries and a refund if you fail (how much $$ is the refund??)

That's my twenty-five cents! Good luck with your decision.

cbubbles2 · December 2010

I'm so sorry that it didn't work out with your sister.

I don't have any advice on DE but I wanted to wish you luck with whatever you pursue.

mainesmichelle · December 2010

Thanks for all of the great advice and well wishes..

A few questions to answer...

No RBA doesn't have a shared-risk program and either does my clinic in Memphis

Success rates are 70%-same as a fresh DE cycle

Yes I can only put back 1 and save the others for a later FET

The guarentee plan is 5 tries for a successful birth or portion of your money back- not sure what portion yet, I am waiting on the coordinator to call me back to confirm. After 2 attempts with no success if you choose to leave the program and can get a portion back also.

Thanks agian..

JM1977 · December 2010

Thanks for the follow-up info! I also wanted to say that I'm sorry that things didn't work out with your sister being your donor. I'm sure that must have been very disappointing.

I think the frozen egg programs also sound like the best deal, especially the guarantee program. I will be interested to know how much you get back if you are not successful after 2 attempts. Also, how do you feel about not being able to see pictures of them? I know some people are totally fine with that and actually would rather not have pictures, but for me it was pretty important to at least see a childhood picture. It just made me feel like I had a better sense of the person.

We are in the shared risk/split cycle program at Shady Grove in MD. Their 6-cycle shared risk plan (100% back at any time) where you split the eggs from one cycle with 2 other couples is $29,000 (which also includes FETs between the fresh cycles). That is the best deal I found in checking out a lot of programs, and it seems like it's in line with the one you are talking about. I wish you all the best!

mainesmichelle · December 2010

I will let you know once I find out what portion is returned. We do get to see childhood pictures -just not adult photos..

It sounds like the Shady Grove Program is pretty good- I wished I lived near MD.

Thanks for the well wishes and good luck to you!!

etoyama · December 2010

Hi Michelle

I'm really sorry things didn't work out with your sister. I wanted to wish you the best of luck with your decision. Big (((HUGS)))

hollymichael · December 2010

mainesmichelle:

I will let you know once I find out what portion is returned. We do get to see childhood pictures -just not adult photos..

It sounds like the Shady Grove Program is pretty good- I wished I lived near MD.

Thanks for the well wishes and good luck to you!!

I am in Chicago and we are traveling to Shady Grove for the guarantee program. I am all about a guarantee so I would probably lean toward the more expensive program you mentioned where you get some of your money back if it doesn't work. I would want to know how much you get back.

My decision was a little similar to yours. I have insurance and could cycle at my clinic with all medical costs covered. Non medical costs run about 13K at my clinic. Stats are 50/50. That was too much risk for very conservative me. So, we chose to pay 29K at Shady Grove with a full guarantee. Although the cost is over twice as much, I liked taking the financial risk out of the equation.

Yes, gymdogfran used the frozen egg bank at RBA. She got pregnant with twins on her first try.

jcath · December 2010

I am doing a frozen egg cycle at RBA. We are OOP too and choose frozen b/c it's cheaper and there is some guarantee - if you don't get two of the highest grade embryos your next cycle is free... Though they transfer anyway and you may get pregnant. My dr said the frozen was particularly good for us b/c we only want one child. He said fresh is better for people to get frozen embryos for later children. Hope that helps

JM1977 · December 2010

Sounds like a promising program! I will look forward to hearing what you decide!

JM1977 · December 2010

Sounds like a promising program! I will look forward to hearing what you decide!
We also only got to see childhood photos, and that was enough for me.

(Sorry for the double post!)

Temp935838312504158 · December 2010

Glad to see you on here for an update Michelle!

Unfortunately, I don't have any advice or thoughts to give on the DE but I am sorry it didn't work out for you & your sister! I wish you lots of luck with this new plan & please keep us posted on what you decide to!

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