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If you are thinking about becoming an egg donor but have a lot of questions about the procedure and medication involved in egg donation, you should know that you are not the only one feeling this way. Many prospective egg donors have one or more concerns that are hindering them from moving ahead.
One of the questions we often get asked is whether the procedure is painful. The answer to this question depends on several factors such as the dosage of fertility medication a woman takes, her body’s response to them, and her pain tolerance level. Below, we have broken down the egg donation process into several categories: injections, ultrasound, retrieval, and recovery. This is to help you understand the process a little bit better.
Will the process use many needles?: In some cases, the answer is yes. During the medical screening process, you will undergo blood work and during the stimulation phase, you will take several shots daily. You may need to take shots for up to 3 weeks based on how your body responds to the fertility medication. However, small needles are used, and you will self-administer injections in your tummy, buttocks, or upper thigh.
Some donors do not find the injections very painful. Note that if you do end up donating your eggs multiple times, your fertility medication may change with each cycle. You may experience a burning/slight tingling sensation or have small bruises at the injection site.
The body of every woman is different. While the injections are very painful for some donors, others need a partner or friend to help them administer the injections. Many women know how much pain they can tolerate, but remember, you are going to be giving yourself shots every day.
While taking daily injections in Egg donation process, you’ll have several appointments with your physician to see how your body is responding to the fertility medications. Your clinic will carry out Blood-work and a vaginal ultrasound. The ultrasound will check the size and count of your ovarian follicles. This will give your doctor an idea of the number of eggs you are going to produce and how many of these eggs will become mature. Also, the ultrasound results will determine whether to increase or lower your medication dosage. This is very important to keep your hormones at a level that will ensure the production of many high-quality eggs without the risk of overstimulation. A vaginal ultrasound is considered a minimally invasive procedure, and most women don’t feel any pain. As a matter of fact, some women are even curious about follicle size and count.
However, some women do consider ultrasounds invasive. Before deciding to become a donor, you first need to conduct your own research on the egg donation process to ensure it’s something you really want to do. Doing your own research and asking questions will mentally prepared for what to expect.
In Egg donation, before the egg retrieval procedure commences, you will receive a “trigger” shot medication in order to stimulate your ovaries for egg release. The egg retrieval itself takes approximately 15 to 25 minutes, and you are going to be under mild sedation. An ultrasound-guided aspiration needle will be inserted through the vagina to harvest your eggs. Most women feel no discomfort because of the anesthesia.
After the procedure, you may experience a little grogginess due to the anesthesia. You may also feel pressure in the pelvic area and/or your lower abdomen. A nurse will be beside you at this time to ensure that you are feeling fine and that everything is okay. Over the next couple of days, you will get medications to subside the pain if need be.
Your nurse may also recommend staying home from work and/or school and rest on your egg retrieval day. Please, do as you are told and let your body recover fully. This might be the ideal time to watch your favorite movies or a replay of the TV shows you have missed. You may want to take things easy for about 7 days after the egg retrieval. That may mean taking the pain medication when needed and not doing any strenuous exercise or activity. You can go back to your everyday activities the day after the retrieval. However, some women experience cramping, bloating and other symptoms, which can make your recovery time longer.
Is the entire process painless? No. Like other medical procedures, the experience of each person is different. We are unique and our bodies are different.
Do some women donate again? Yes, of course. For many of these compassionate women, the pain, bloating and cramps are well worth it to help bring a new baby to the world. Fill out a form to see if you qualify to become an Egg Donor with our partner Lucina Egg Bank.
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Our fertility clinic focuses on helping you build your family regardless of your sexual orientation or the gender you choose to identify with. We are even taking further steps to make LGTB people feel more welcome at our fertility clinic. Each of our patient-facing staff goes through LGTB training to let family-building clinicians provide necessary support and make you feel highly welcome.
Coastal Fertility Medical Center offers one of the most advanced fertility treatments and is completely transparent regarding the costs of procedures and any other expenses that you may have to pay before commencing your treatment. This differentiates us from some fertility clinics that reduce prices before the signing of the contract but charge you extra later on. We make sure our patients are well aware of any possible extra pricing that may occur over the course of their treatment.
The infertility industry is currently segmented, with each service or treatment being handled by a different provider. Our all-inclusive model simplifies an otherwise complex and difficult process. We are here to revolutionize the infertility industry by offering a one-stop-service model to assist our patients through infertility challenges while reducing physical, emotional, and financial risks.
Our globally respected team of specialists are helping improve IVF technologies to enter into a generation of better outcomes for infertility. Although you’ll have a doctor guiding you, you are also going to benefit from the experience and insights of other doctors during case review collaboration meetings, which take place every week. So, you won’t just rely on the expertise of a specialist but benefit from the knowledge of many reputed fertility experts.
Our team specializes in difficult cases and help patients who may have been considered “hopeless” at other fertility clinics. Thanks to our personalized solutions, expertise, and internal collaboration, weare able to maximize pregnancy success rates that are well above the industry average, even in difficult infertility cases.
We know that every situation is different and that everyone requires different treatments. Unlike facilities that take “a one-size-fits-all” approach for all cases, our fertility specialists use more than 40 customized protocols to raise the chances of success. The customized approach even extends to our fertility laboratory. Our on-site lab director and his highly-experienced team nurture every embryo and egg to increase the odds of success of each cycle.
Coastal Fertility Medical Center offers one of the most advanced fertility treatments and is completely transparent regarding the costs of procedures and any other expenses that you may have to pay before commencing your treatment. This differentiates us from some fertility clinics that reduce prices before the signing of the contract but charge you extra later on. We make sure our patients are well aware of any possible extra pricing that may occur over the course of their treatment.
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Following the Preimplantation Genetic Screening process, which helps ensure there are normal chromosome numbers and detects possible genetic disorders, the most healthy embryo(s) are selected to be implanted into your or your chosen surrogate’s womb. 2 weeks after the transfer of the embryo, your physician will conduct a final blood test to determine the level of hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) in your body. Increased hCG levels usually indicate a positive pregnancy test.
For fertilization to take place, the collected egg and sperm are combined in a petri dish and cultured in an embryo incubator. This dish is closely watched to check whether any of the eggs have been fertilized. Once the egg is fertilized, it is referred to as an embryo or a blastocyst on the 5th day of development. Our in-house embryologist carefully nurtures every embryo to the right time, even if it means working outside the standard business operating hours. For instance: If an oocyte is not mature, our laboratory will wait for it to mature and then ICSI it at the right time.
The egg retrieval is a slightly invasive medical procedure that takes about 20 to 30 minutes. You will be given an anesthetic to make you sleep for the duration of the procedure. Using ultrasound technology, your doctor will harvest your eggs transvaginally with a small, hollow needle connected to an ultrasound probe. Once your eggs are collected, your partner’s semen or donor sperm you have pre-selected is used for fertilization. The sperm are washed and prepared, and the top-quality sperm extracted is used to fertilize the eggs.
Your doctor will create a customized medication schedule that contains information about the fertility medications and hormone injections you have to take. Medication and injections are taken to encourage your ovaries to mature a large number of eggs for fertilization. Since women don’t respond to fertility drugs and hormones the same way, personalized protocols are crucial to the IVF cycle success. At Coastal Fertility, we will monitor you closely, letting you understand the changes occurring in your body and keeping track of how your egg follicles are growing.
On-site consultations typicallyinclude a standard fertility evaluation, consisting of a physical examination, complementary follicular ultrasound, and testing to enable your doctor to know your present fertility status and draw up a treatment plan.
This consultation includes a detailed medical evaluation with a doctor. You and your physician will review your health records and have enough time to talk about your goals and get answers to your questions. We recommend that you jot down all your questions before the visit to allow you to make the best use of the time spent with your doctor.
Your Reproductive Endocrinologist will take all factors into consideration and create a comprehensive plan of care, otherwise known as the treatment plan. This plan will include treatment recommendations from the physician and enable your financial coordinator to make a precise quotation once you meet.
Our globally respected team of specialists are helping improve IVF technologies to enter into a generation of better outcomes for infertility. Although you’ll have a doctor guiding you, you are also going to benefit from the experience and insights of other doctors during case review collaboration meetings, which take place every week. So, you won’t just rely on the expertise of a specialist but benefit from the knowledge of many reputed fertility experts.
The infertility industry is currently segmented, with each service or treatment being handled by a different provider. Our all-inclusive model simplifies an otherwise complex and difficult process. We are here to revolutionize the infertility industry by offering a one-stop-service model to assist our patients through infertility challenges while reducing physical, emotional, and financial risks.
Our fertility clinic focuses on helping you build your family regardless of your sexual orientation or the gender you choose to identify with. We are even taking further steps to make LGTB people feel more welcome at our fertility clinic. Each of our patient-facing staff goes through LGTB training to let family-building clinicians provide necessary support and make you feel highly welcome.
We know that every situation is different and that everyone requires different treatments. Unlike facilities that take “a one-size-fits-all” approach for all cases, our fertility specialists use more than 40 customized protocols to raise the chances of success. The customized approach even extends to our fertility laboratory. Our on-site lab director and his highly-experienced team nurture every embryo and egg to increase the odds of success of each cycle.
Our team specializes in difficult cases and help patients who may have been considered “hopeless” at other fertility clinics. Thanks to our personalized solutions, expertise, and internal collaboration, weare able to maximize pregnancy success rates that are well above the industry average, even in difficult infertility cases.
Upon your arrival, you will check in with a Patient Care Coordinator. We will obtain your insurance information for benefits verification, a copy of your identification and take a picture for your electronic medical chart
Coastal Fertility is the leading provider of fertility solutions located in Orange County. Join us to get free updates on fertility news, treatments, infertility solutions and more.
Coastal Fertility is the leading provider of fertility solutions located in Orange County. Join us to get free updates on fertility news, treatments, infertility solutions and more.