Help! IM a rookie

yearoftherose

I am in the beginning stages of this. Never in a million years.......you know the rest. I have chosen a few donors I am interested in. Before I narrow it down, I have a million questions. I need to know if the blood type is important, if i need to do anything before the IUI to enhance my chances of getting pregnant and how do I know which donor has a healthy number of sperm count to increase those chances. anyone have any advice? Im an American expat living all the way in China and have a few months to do research and set everything up before I come home for a visit in December or possibly before.

Any shared experiences will be appreciated.

thanks!

TX_RAIN

Hello, I am in the beginning stages also. I went to a reproductive endocrinologist (RE)/OB/GYN. They collected labs to include test to check hormonal levels, ovarian reserves, TSH, CMV status, etc. I also had to have 3 ultrasounds: trans-vaginal, saline and HSG (checks for blockages of fallopian tubes). I know if you are CMV-, you would have to choose CMV- donor sperm (DS). My OB/GYN recommended that I see a RE on June 10th and I only just learned that I can proceed this week; so, it is a process. I have to have an outpatient procedure to remove a polyp/fibroid in September. Depending on the results of that, I will be able to begin IUIs in either September or October. I don't know if this is something you can do while visiting. Maybe you can get some of the preliminary work done while in China? My RE recommended that I start taking prenatal vitamins to get ready. She also recommended that I start tracking my ovulation now, before I start the IUI cycles to give myself the best chance of predicting when I will be ovulating for the IUI. I think the sperm count and motility is a bit of a gamble. Your RE should be telling you the counts after they are washed or before the insemination. I know if it is below a minimum count, you can get a refund on the vial though I haven't read those rules to know the particulars. Also, my RE told me that they wash the sperm at their clinic so I don't have to purchase pre-washed vials (IUI). Also, you have to have a physician in order to purchase the sperm here. My fertility clinic has to fill out a form in order for me to able to purchase for Fairfax.

I hope this was helpful and welcome.

njenna

Hello! I'm a fairly new beginner too. I was also an expat in HK If you have an expat dr in China I would see what testing you can do ahead of time. I didn't have as many preliminary tests as TX (unsure why but I only had a blood test looking at my Anti-Muilan (sp?) hormone and then I also did the HSG dye scan. I needed to "pass" both of those before I could proceed. This is what I would see if you could find out now and then officially start DS/IUI/IVF upon return. One thing you do have over there is acupuncture. I'd start that now . Good luck! These forums are great when you have questions.

mfsantosg

I am also a newbie and would like to know what means the positive and negative CMV?

TX_RAIN

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a virus that is fairly common. Most people don't even know they have it, but in rare cases it can cause problems for babies or babies infected during pregnancies. Usually if you are negative for the CMV, MD prefers you to get a CMV negative donor.

mfsantosg

Did not know. Thank´s.

Fairfax Cryobank

Check out our blog "What is CMV?"