gestational carrier

sine4me

Hello,

I am considering a gestational carrier, my sister in law is volunteering for me. This route is completely new and i'm trying to gather information before i decide if this is even something i want to do. My last IVF failed (5 IUI's before that), but i have 3 embryos that were frozen. If anyone else has done the research or gone through this process and has insight they can provide, i would really appreciate it.

1. Is there any testing that she needs done beforehand? She's had two children and no issues with getting pregnant. She'll be 34 in January.

2. What medications would she need (if any) before a FET?

3. Are there any additional fees to use a gestational carrier instead of the original patient for IVF (me)? Is there any paperwork that needs to be done ahead of time for gestational carrier?

4. Does a lawyer really need to be involved since it's my SIL and I know I won't have issues with my brother and SIL? Also, it's my egg and DS, no genetic claim to either of them. Is a pre-birth order difficult to get and is it really a necessity?

5. Anything else that I need to consider?

Thank you.

Anne72

I can't speak to the legal aspects. But have you discussed with your doctor? It's often the issue that the egg/ embryo quality is the issue, not the carrier. So using your eggs and a carrier may not make pregnancy any more likely or viable. I would talk to your doctor in detail before moving forward and really ask about the egg quality issue.

Whatever happens, best of luck!

And IMHO, I would still use a lawyer. You never know

moewhit25

sine4me wrote: »

Hello,

I am considering a gestational carrier, my sister in law is volunteering for me. This route is completely new and i'm trying to gather information before i decide if this is even something i want to do. My last IVF failed (5 IUI's before that), but i have 3 embryos that were frozen. If anyone else has done the research or gone through this process and has insight they can provide, i would really appreciate it.

Hi Sine4me,
I'm sorry that your first IVF cycle didn't work. I also had that happen to me. However, if you have frozen embryos why wouldn't you chose to do a frozen embryo transfer (FET)? I'm not sure what stage they were frozen, Day 3 vs Day 5 but I agree with Anne, you need to determine if it's an egg quality issue before making an informed decision.

Often, as in my situation the FET was a success because the process is less stressful on your body PLUS if the embryos make it through the thaw process they are usually robust enough to stick....My doctor transferred two during my fresh cycle and 3 during my FET. I still have one leftover and almost feel like it's not even worth a try since it took 3 to get one to stick. But I digress....

We have similar stories except I think I did about 7 medicated IUI's. I would gamble and transfer the remaining embroys and skip the gestational carrier because it's not like you're using donor eggs. Also it's expensive but have you considered the PGD where they take a sample of the cells from the embryo to determine if there are any defects? It's got to be cheaper then the gestational carrier route and will actually give you good information about the viability of the embryos.

My fertility clinic has a useful website with info on the gestational carrier process. Google, Shady Grove Fertility.

Sending well wishes your way and lots of hugs.

Moe

sine4me

Thank you ladies for the feedback and the information. Yes, I understand about the egg quality. So far, my embryos "look pretty" and have ranged in the 4aa, 4bb, 5bb, 4ab quality. They all made it to 5 day or day 6 before transfer for freezing. Obviously, that's just looking at them and not genetic (PGD) classifications.

At this point I'm just looking at my options and what they involve. As most of you know, all of this is completely out of pocket, so after 6 rounds of failed cycles, i need to consider where I'll get results sooner rather than later.

Thank you.