Trisha’s Egg Donation Journey: Why I Used Donor Eggs

[Download Trisha’s entire blog series in PDF form here]

The following blog is the first installation of our inaugural Client Perspective guest blog series.  We are proud to introduce Trisha H. and the story she wishes to share about her journey to motherhood. The words are all her own.

The Decision Journey Part I: The Beginning of My Fertility Journey and the Decision to Use Donor Eggs

Hello, ladies. Welcome to my first blog series!

I hope you are well on your way to what will be one of the most exciting experiences of your entire life. I know I’m there.

Every day I feel the little thumps in my belly, I do mental cartwheels and somersaults (because let’s face it, I barely have the energy and coordination to walk in a straight line these days), while grinning from ear-to-ear in disbelief and with pure excitement.  After years of trying to conceive, never did I think I would one day be wobbling around with a little jelly bean growing inside of me.  As I type, he is bouncing all over the place… thank you double shot hot cocoa!

I guess you are probably wondering who I am, so I’ll just go ahead and introduce myself.  My name is Trisha and I am a 38 year old working professional who has gone through seven failed IUI and three failed IVF cycles using my own eggs. After my last two IVF cycles resulted in a total of 30+ poor quality eggs, we decided, through the support of our reproductive endocrinologist (RE), to opt for donor eggs.  Never in a million years did I think we would go with this option, but my goodness, am I ever so happy we did. Not only does it cost about the same, if not slightly less (depending on whether you choose frozen or fresh), than the traditional IVF procedures, it is also more promising if, like me, you can’t conceive using your own eggs.

I hope you will continue to join me in some ‘mommy-to-be’ chats over the next few months.  I plan to share my experiences with you, answer all of your questions, and help you arrive at the decision that is best for your family and you through your baby-making journey.  I know it is not an easy decision, especially to use “someone else’s” eggs.  But please – I BEG YOU, do not look at it like that… (I’ll wait while you toss that thought out of your head for good).  Listen, nobody can ever tell me this baby growing in my belly is anything less than my very own, as my blood and snack cravings continue to give him life.  Our connection is so magical that it overrides any thought of us not being genetically tied.  We are connected – PERIOD!  I mean, it was I, who just guzzled down a hot cup of cocoa to wash down my peanut butter and dark chocolate Kind bar.  And, as a result of this delicious snack time option, it is he who is bouncing around in his one and only mother’s belly.  Did I mention how amazing the feeling is of him bouncing around in there?

Okay, let me pause here… I need to save something for the next blog series, right?  I guess this is also a good time for me to tell you, I like to talk a lot – not only vocally but with my fingers.  So let’s chat!  Send me your thoughts and questions to [email protected].  I promise to respond as promptly as possible.  Below is a list of planned blog topics, but if you have additional topics to suggest, as they relate to trying to conceive through donor options, please let me know.

Click to read Part II: Deliberating fresh vs. frozen eggs

Series:

The decision journey Part I: The beginning of my fertility journey and the decision to use donor eggs

The decision journey Part II: Deliberating fresh v. frozen eggs

The decision journey Part III: Finding the right donor

Part IV: How the donor egg process worked once I found my egg donor, and the cradle-to-grave (or “big fat positive” [BFP]) process

Part V: Resources I used throughout the decision process

Part VI: Our future – What stories will we share with friends/family and our child(ren)