IVF #5 Results & Next part of the Journey

I'm sorry we haven't blogged lately about our IVF journey. We have had a large pill to swallow with this latest failed cycle. Yes that's right, another negative test under our belt for cycle 5 IVF.  We had our follow up consultation with our RE, Monday. We found out we have essentially two choices after discussing some of our questions with him. 

1. PGT Testing

            Preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) is a state-of-the-art procedure used in conjunction with in vitro fertilization (IVF) to select embryos free of chromosomal abnormalities and specific genetic disorders for transfer to the uterus. These genetic conditions can interfere with embryo implantation, result in pregnancy loss, or in the birth of a child with physical problems, developmental delay, or mental retardation. PGT improves the likelihood of a successful pregnancy and birth for two distinctly different groups of patients; couples with infertility related to recurrent miscarriage or unsuccessful IVF cycles and couples who are at risk for passing on an inherited genetic disease to their offspring.
            Preimplantation genetic testing may be recommended by your physician when there is a possibility, indicated by your medical history or advanced maternal age, that your embryos could be affected by a genetic disease. PGT can only be performed within the context of an IVF cycle where eggs and sperm, united in the laboratory, develop into embryos.
            Today, PGT technology reduces the potential for adverse pregnancy outcomes for couples ‘at risk’ by testing the embryos for certain genetic abnormalities before they are chosen for transfer back to the woman. For example: 10 embryos resulted from an IVF cycle and through PGT testing, six were identified as genetically abnormal and four were normal. Armed with this knowledge, only the normal embryos would be selected for embryo transfer thereby reducing the possibility of miscarriage or birth defects.

This would not help our chances to become pregnant and it is not a cheap procedure since we would still have go through a fresh cycle with egg retrieval. This would be a diagnostic tool to see if it is essentially an embryo issue prohibiting implantation.

2. Donor Egg

 For the same cost as PGT we could do a donor egg. In this scenario, we pull profiles with baby pics of the donor included, from the clinics donor bank, then once we make a selection we have to attend counseling, then the donor starts the process of egg retrieval. I would be in suppression mode so that I would handle the transfer just like a normal IVF cycle and then with a positive pregnancy test see the baby to full term. This would increase our chances of becoming pregnant by 60-70%! Holy Wow!

Benefits of Egg Donation

Egg donation removes many of the questions and concerns that patients have about conception and pregnancy. Couples view egg donor profiles and select an egg from a donor with their desired characteristics.

It can bring a deeper sense of connection to the process to know that the baby is genetically related to the male partner, and the woman who carries the baby can exercise complete control over the pregnancy management and ensure the baby receives outstanding prenatal care. 

So, these are our two choices we need to decide from. Yes, there are others as well:

3. surrogate

4. adoption

5. forget kids have more furbabies

We have started the pre-adoption classes through our local family services center and plan to continue the paperwork and complete the items they require. That is until we have to pay out of pocket for something and then we will make a decision when the time comes to choice which path to take then. But for now, we are looking at testing and donor egg while working on paperwork for adoption. They say for the local adoption through the state it can take 3-5 years to get a newborn or infant to toddler age.

I know you have all been waiting for it, you are wondering what our silver lining is this time. Well, we have no clue. Ha! Bet you were not expecting that.  We were able to get a lot of things done around the house and just enjoy each others company after our last results call. Things didn't get tricky or "real" until we had to face our current set of decisions with how we plan to proceed.  

Since I began writing this blog (Tuesday) we have made our final decision as to which fork in our path we will be taking.  We are opting for the egg donation. Silver lining there is we can control the prenatal wellness and I still get to partake in carrying the end result.  Hopefully with the donor egg, we then weed out the infertility issues and genetic things I am predisposed to and the result of this will be a happy healthy baby who will grow up with less complications. 

So for now, this will be my last blog about our journey until we select our donor, complete the required counseling, and have the cycle ready to begin.