We plan to purchase vials either this afternoon or Monday. So I was just wondering how many vials did everyone purchase upfront? Also how many did you have shipped at a time and how many are you storing for possible siblings?
Our NEW Blog Married my best friend 5*15*2008 Trying to start our family 8*2011 unmedicated iui#3= bfp 10/20/11!
beta#1=11, beta#2=85, beta#3=741,beta#4=1000,beta#5=2146,beta#6=7454
*please keep doubling*
Congrats!! The selection process, although, long, was the fun part. (For us)
It depends on if you are DIY or a doctor. We purchased 6 vials. Our doctor instucted us to use 2 vials each cycle (1 on day one and the other the next day). When we DIY (which is how we conceived this time) we used one vial. I would say store the same that you order the 1st time, to insure that you have enough in case it takes more than one cycle....
Good Luck!
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We ordered 2 vials at a time (we used 2 per cycle.) We weren't set on any particular donor and ended up switching 3x while TTC. Also we weren't having to pay shipping each time because we were using a local bank and just had to have it courried to the RE (cheaper than storage.) So it depends on how dedicated you are to that particular donor.
We ordered five and had three shipped to the clinic. This is our first cycle, so I don't know if that was the "right" thing to do or not. We didn't want to order too many in case we needed to switch, but we wanted to have enough to go through a few cycles without worrying about that part of it.
We hedged our bets on shipping costs and ordered 4-6 vials at a time. In the end we regretted it, because we ended up with two or three in storage at our RE clinic that we didn't use, and don't want to pay ongoing storage fees. All in all much more $$ wasted than we would have spent on the extra shipping. So I would say don't order more than you need for a given cycle (our RE required we have two on hand even if we were only using one).
Check with your cryobank, but I think most of them typically alert you if a donor you've used is "going off the market". You can decide THEN whether to purchase extras for future use. Some of the bigger banks allow you to return unused vials for a partial refund if they've been stored on site at their own facility - another reason to ship as few as possible to your doctor, even if you've bought a bunch.
One more thing - I've heard stories of women being unable to conceive with the chosen donor, but having no trouble once they switched to a different one. Somethings things just don't mesh, I guess. So I would definitely wait to buy swimmers for siblings until you've actually conceived the first one.
we only did 1 at a time, so, obviously, 1 per cycle (and we were lucky to get a BFP on our 2nd cycle). we would definitely like to use this donor again for siblings, but we're trying to buy a house, so all of our money has to go towards that right now. once we're back up on our savings, we'll probably buy a few more vials and store them.
Thanks for everyone's input. To save on shipping we've decided to order 6 vials and have them all shipped to our midwife's clinic. Storage there is free for a year and if I get pregnant without using all six (fingers crossed) we will continue to store the extras until we're ready to try for a second child. If I don't get pregnant after six tries my insurance coverage will start paying and we'll go the medicated route with another donor.
Our NEW Blog Married my best friend 5*15*2008 Trying to start our family 8*2011 unmedicated iui#3= bfp 10/20/11!
beta#1=11, beta#2=85, beta#3=741,beta#4=1000,beta#5=2146,beta#6=7454
*please keep doubling*
Thanks for everyone's input. To save on shipping we've decided to order 6 vials and have them all shipped to our midwife's clinic. Storage there is free for a year and if I get pregnant without using all six (fingers crossed) we will continue to store the extras until we're ready to try for a second child. If I don't get pregnant after six tries my insurance coverage will start paying and we'll go the medicated route with another donor.
Sounds like a good option! We ordered 8 vials, which came with 2 years free storage at the bank. Our bank allows you to sell back for 50% any extra vials. We used 2 per cycle and both our kids were first cycle babies, so we still have 4 vials in storage.
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We ordered 6 vials because there are very few Filipino donors. I just had two shipped to the RE's office just in case I end up hating my RE and want to send our vials somewhere else. Now that our donor is retired, I have to pray I can have two babies with 6 vials. I know someone mentioned something about selling back and I just wanted to say that at least at California Cryobank, the vials have to be at CCB to be qualified for the buyback program. Best of luck!
May 2005-Diagnosed with Stage 3-4 Endo and PCOS
July 2009-HSG Normal
April 2011-1st RE Appt
Prescribed Metformin + Baby Aspirin
AMH and Androgen Panel Ordered
May 2011-Repeat HSG-Normal
July 2011-IUI #1 Monitored Cycle: Metformin+100mg Clomid+Follistim+HCG Trigger+Prometrium+Estrace = BFN
August 2011-IUI#2 Monitored Cycle: Metformin 1500mg + Follistim +Ovidrel = Canceled-Too Many Follicles-Cyst Aspiration
October 2011-IUI #2: Monitored Cycle: Metformin + Follistim + Lupron + Dexamethasone + Ovidrel = BFN
November 2011: Time off due to OHSS
December 2011: IVF #1: Mini/Modified IVF: Follistim + Menopur + Lupron + Dexamethasone = BFP + Severe OHSS
Beta 1: 170 Beta 2: 332 Beta 3: 1316 Twins!!!
We actually decided on getting 6 vials because it was the best deal. My husband is all about getting the best for our dollar so he was able to find a deal through our donor bank that allowed us to get free shipping, $25 off the total order and a buy 5 vials get one free! This allowed us to save close to $300! We planned to get 6 vials bc we want a large family (4 at least) and six ship for the same price as one, but any more vials and it's another shipping cost.
IUI #1 (50 mg clomid and ovidrel) - BFN IUI #2 (100 mg clomid and HCG trigger) - BFN IUI #3 (Gonal-f and HCG trigger) - BFN IVF #1 - 21 retrieved, 20 mature, 15 fertilized (ICSI), 2 d5 blasts transferred, 8 frozen - c/p FET #1 - BFFN FET #2 - BFN? c/p? Either way no baby FET #3 - No shock...BFN FET #4 - BFN :-( Surgery and TTC cancelled - pursuing surrogacy 7/31/12 Surrogate got a +HPT!!!!
Re: Ordering swimmers
Congrats!! The selection process, although, long, was the fun part. (For us)
It depends on if you are DIY or a doctor. We purchased 6 vials. Our doctor instucted us to use 2 vials each cycle (1 on day one and the other the next day). When we DIY (which is how we conceived this time) we used one vial. I would say store the same that you order the 1st time, to insure that you have enough in case it takes more than one cycle....
Good Luck!
We ordered 2 vials at a time (we used 2 per cycle.) We weren't set on any particular donor and ended up switching 3x while TTC. Also we weren't having to pay shipping each time because we were using a local bank and just had to have it courried to the RE (cheaper than storage.) So it depends on how dedicated you are to that particular donor.
Good luck!
We hedged our bets on shipping costs and ordered 4-6 vials at a time. In the end we regretted it, because we ended up with two or three in storage at our RE clinic that we didn't use, and don't want to pay ongoing storage fees. All in all much more $$ wasted than we would have spent on the extra shipping. So I would say don't order more than you need for a given cycle (our RE required we have two on hand even if we were only using one).
Check with your cryobank, but I think most of them typically alert you if a donor you've used is "going off the market". You can decide THEN whether to purchase extras for future use. Some of the bigger banks allow you to return unused vials for a partial refund if they've been stored on site at their own facility - another reason to ship as few as possible to your doctor, even if you've bought a bunch.
One more thing - I've heard stories of women being unable to conceive with the chosen donor, but having no trouble once they switched to a different one. Somethings things just don't mesh, I guess. So I would definitely wait to buy swimmers for siblings until you've actually conceived the first one.
Hope that helps!
Married my best friend 5*15*2008 Trying to start our family 8*2011
unmedicated iui#3= bfp 10/20/11! beta#1=11, beta#2=85, beta#3=741,beta#4=1000,beta#5=2146,beta#6=7454 *please keep doubling*
Sounds like a good option! We ordered 8 vials, which came with 2 years free storage at the bank. Our bank allows you to sell back for 50% any extra vials. We used 2 per cycle and both our kids were first cycle babies, so we still have 4 vials in storage.
IUI #2 (100 mg clomid and HCG trigger) - BFN
IUI #3 (Gonal-f and HCG trigger) - BFN
IVF #1 - 21 retrieved, 20 mature, 15 fertilized (ICSI), 2 d5 blasts transferred, 8 frozen - c/p
FET #1 - BFFN
FET #2 - BFN? c/p? Either way no baby
FET #3 - No shock...BFN
FET #4 - BFN :-(
Surgery and TTC cancelled - pursuing surrogacy
7/31/12 Surrogate got a +HPT!!!!