Hello and welcome to the Fairfax Cryobank Family Forum!
The forum has a new look and the Fairfax Team is so excited to create the best experience for our users.
To Note:
Private Donor Groups and Private Sibling Connection Groups are now located under the category "Groups". Search the donor number in the search box and you should find exactly what you're looking for!
Questions about your forum access? Email forum@fairfaxcryobank.com
Follow these steps to join a private donor group:
1) Press "Join" at the right of the group
2) Once prompted to confirm your request please list this information so we can verify your information:
Name (under which the vial was purchased)
Email
Clinic Name
Donor number
Child Date of Birth
*If you are looking to start a private group for a PRS donor please email forum@fairfaxcryobank.com with the above information and that you are looking for a PRS group*
If you have any questions about the verification process please email forum@fairfaxcryobank.com
The forum has a new look and the Fairfax Team is so excited to create the best experience for our users.
To Note:
Private Donor Groups and Private Sibling Connection Groups are now located under the category "Groups". Search the donor number in the search box and you should find exactly what you're looking for!
Questions about your forum access? Email forum@fairfaxcryobank.com
Follow these steps to join a private donor group:
1) Press "Join" at the right of the group
2) Once prompted to confirm your request please list this information so we can verify your information:
Name (under which the vial was purchased)
Clinic Name
Donor number
Child Date of Birth
*If you are looking to start a private group for a PRS donor please email forum@fairfaxcryobank.com with the above information and that you are looking for a PRS group*
If you have any questions about the verification process please email forum@fairfaxcryobank.com
Young couple questions
courtneyga
Junior Member Junior Member
Hi everyone,
Quick intro: My name is Courtney and I'm 23. My husband is 26 and had testicular cancer when he was 21 and cannot have biological kids. Since his first surgery, we've talked about adopting and planned to adopt. I even majored in child and family development with an emphasis on adoption. However, now that we're actually getting to the point of planning for a family, we feel that a donor would be the best option for us.
My questions pertain mostly to my age and beginning this process. We plan to begin the process in the next year or two, so I will still be relatively young (24-25). I'm trying to learn as much as I can (I'm a research-aholic!) and I've read almost every single post on this forum. There doesn't seem to be a lot of information available and I'm just starting to make heads and tails of all the acronyms and terms.
Given my age and no signs of fertility issues, I assume the process will be slightly different than what many of you have experienced. Has anyone else in my age range (24-25) had success? Any tips? I think we'll try ICI first (although it seems very intimidating!) then move to IUI if we need.
I have briefly mentioned to my OBGYN that this is our plan for building our family, but that was almost a year ago and I wasn't ready to start talking specifics yet. How do I get the process started? Do I talk to my OBGYN and go from there? Should I schedule an appointment with a fertility specialist?
Looking for some friendly advice! Thank you everyone for sharing your stories and knowledge - it's so unbelievably helpful! And thank you Fairfax for having this forum.
Quick intro: My name is Courtney and I'm 23. My husband is 26 and had testicular cancer when he was 21 and cannot have biological kids. Since his first surgery, we've talked about adopting and planned to adopt. I even majored in child and family development with an emphasis on adoption. However, now that we're actually getting to the point of planning for a family, we feel that a donor would be the best option for us.
My questions pertain mostly to my age and beginning this process. We plan to begin the process in the next year or two, so I will still be relatively young (24-25). I'm trying to learn as much as I can (I'm a research-aholic!) and I've read almost every single post on this forum. There doesn't seem to be a lot of information available and I'm just starting to make heads and tails of all the acronyms and terms.
Given my age and no signs of fertility issues, I assume the process will be slightly different than what many of you have experienced. Has anyone else in my age range (24-25) had success? Any tips? I think we'll try ICI first (although it seems very intimidating!) then move to IUI if we need.
I have briefly mentioned to my OBGYN that this is our plan for building our family, but that was almost a year ago and I wasn't ready to start talking specifics yet. How do I get the process started? Do I talk to my OBGYN and go from there? Should I schedule an appointment with a fertility specialist?
Looking for some friendly advice! Thank you everyone for sharing your stories and knowledge - it's so unbelievably helpful! And thank you Fairfax for having this forum.
Comments
Welcome to the forums! I think that your OB/GYN would be a great place to start asking more questions as well as researching the different cryobanks for their shipping policies. Since you mentioned wanting to try ICI first, consider whether you will be wanting to inseminate at home or at the doctor's office. Many cryobanks will require that you be registered with a doctor even if you want to ship to your home. While IUI has a higher success rate, I know of plenty of women who have have acheived successful pregnancies through ICI as well. Have you thought of whether you will want to use any type of fertility medications such as Clomid or Femera to increase your chances of success? These are both oral medications that are usually available through most OB/GYNs. Of course there is always the chance of twins/multiples with this so that is something you may want to consider as well since you are young. Also, I imagine the cryobank with the best selection of available donors that meet your criteria will play a big role in your decision-making and where you end up purchasing your vials. It's a lot of information to process and a lot to research, but I think that it is wonderful that you are moving forward with your family-building plans, and very wise that you are doing this with youth on your side. I wish you much success on your journey, and if you ever have any questions, I am happy to help if I can!
Sincerely,
Amber
Yes, Clomid helps women to ovulate but it also carries with it a chance of multipes. Generally, a 10% chance of twins, and less than 1% of triplets or more. Actually, I am not to sure on the policy for specemin pick-up anymore. I believe Fairfax used to allow you to do pick-ups if you were local years ago, but I don't see on their website anywhere now that that is still an option. I'm not sure about the policies with Xytex, NW Cryo, CA Cryobank, or Pacific Reproductive Services.
I would think that it would be a tight squeeze to fly out last minute for a pick-up and insemination (although perhaps not impossible) because you will need to know exactly when you are ovulating and usually do your insemination within 24 hours of that. And I say 24 hours because I am assuming that you are doing a natural (non-medicated) cycle. I'm also assuming that you're using some sort of LH testing strips or maybe even the Clearblue Easy Fertility monitor to detect your ovulation. This doesn't give you much time to hop a flight (depending on your location), coordinate with a cryobank for pick-up within business hours, and make an appointment with a doctor who can see you on a moments notice. I'm guessing that any doctor performing the insemination would want to at least have you established as a patient beforehand. I could be wrong, but even Pacific Reproductive Services requires that you fill out paperwork, have an intake physical (performed by your regular doctor or by them for an additional fee), and have some lab testing before they will begin treating a new client. So you may want to first narrow down which cryobank has the donor(s) you like best, what that cryobanks policies and/or prices are for pick-up or shipping, where the nearest OB/GYN that does insemenations is located to them, and get established with them before trying to proceed.
I hope this helps a little. There is also a Facebook group that I belong to that is very active and has some very knowledgeable ladies on it that may be able to help you out as well. You can post or ask questions anonymously there too. It is called TTC-Donors and Siblings. Here is the link just incase you are interested: https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/donorsiblings/
Best wishes and I hope I've helped a little!