I'm not talking Easter Eggs here, not yet anyway. I'm talking human eggs. This is my journey through being an egg donor.
Last March I was driving home from work and was upset that I was a working mom. My entire life before Taylor I had dreamed of being a stay at home mom and hoped that one day my dream would come true. Unfortunately I'm not able to stay home. We need my income. So there I was, sitting in traffic, when the interesting topic of fertility/infertility/adoption was on the radio. A listener of the radio station called in for advice. Her boyfriend wanted a big family, they had been trying to get pregnant for about a year with no luck and without him knowing she had a fertility test done. She was infertile. My heart broke for her. I couldn't imagine anyone ever telling me I wouldn't be able to have children naturally. Callers suggested she use IVF, adopt, etc. Egg donation became a big topic. She could use someone else's eggs. As I listened to more of her story I wondered how many women were told every day they were infertile. Having to work didn't seem like such a problem anymore. And after having Taylor I knew being a mom was the greatest gift in life and every woman should be given the opportunity to feel such joy.
I went home, told DJ what I had heard on the radio and told him I wanted to become an egg donor. The next day I researched egg donation, applied for two clinics and waited for a response. Shortly after applying, I got a phone call. I had been accepted as a donor by The Colorado Center For Reporductive Medicine.
In the next couple of weeks I would go through a handful of tests, visits and phone calls. I had 13 vials of blood drawn for every genetic test that could affect any potential offspring. I had ultrasounds to see how many egg follicles I had on each ovary. I had a physical, met with a psychologist, took personality tests, and went over all the legal formalities of being an egg donor. Now I just had to wait. The easy part was done.
When a couple decides to use egg donation as a means of getting pregnant, they go through file after file until they find that special someone they think would be a good fit for them. To them I don't have a name, but a donor number. They got to see a baby picture of me, read about my hobbies, interest, family traits, religion, ethnicity, race, personality. I felt like it was an anonymous job interview. But in early May 2009 I was 'picked'. I felt like someone adopted me. I felt honored that a couple found me as a good fit to help them become parents. I felt deep joy knowing that a woman I had never met was going to be given the chance to become a mom because something I could give her.
The process of donating eggs is not easy. I needed to start and stop taking birth control every few weeks to get my cycle exactly one week ahead of my recipients cycle. Once we were on track I started the medication. I took one birth control pill, one dexamethasone pill and one injection of lupron every night. After a week I stopped the birth control, continued with the other pill and injection. During this time I went in for regular blood draws and ultrasounds. I got nothing but bad news. Because I had to start and stop my period so often I had cysts on my ovaries. They went away but every time they changed the birth control I got another cyst. I was frustrated, felt like I was wasting my time, felt like I let my recipient couple down.
Fast forward to now. It's the end of March 2010. One year after I applied and was accepted to be an egg donor. Because of the continuing cyst problem I do not have a recipient couple anymore. My body didn't like the process and wasn't going to work with me. Instead, I am still a donor, but my eggs will be retrieved and frozen for anyone to use. This way my body can stay on it's own track and I can stop forming cysts.
It started at the beginning of March. I started the birth control, went in for ultrasounds and blood work. 17 days in and I started my injections again. Now I was taking a birth control pill, dexamethasone pill and an injection of lepton every night. (This was the farthest I had ever gotten since my cysts always stopped the process). On the 21st I stopped taking my birth control, and continued with my other medications. Friday I went in for blood work, an ultrasound, pre-op physical and urine sample. I was given the "GO" that I was cyst free and would start my stimulation meds in a few days. Sunday I started taking one injection in the morning, two injections at night and a pill. Every day, starting today, I go in for an ultrasound and blood work. They measure the size of my egg follicles on each ovary and the size determines the amount of medicine I inject every night.
Last March I was driving home from work and was upset that I was a working mom. My entire life before Taylor I had dreamed of being a stay at home mom and hoped that one day my dream would come true. Unfortunately I'm not able to stay home. We need my income. So there I was, sitting in traffic, when the interesting topic of fertility/infertility/adoption was on the radio. A listener of the radio station called in for advice. Her boyfriend wanted a big family, they had been trying to get pregnant for about a year with no luck and without him knowing she had a fertility test done. She was infertile. My heart broke for her. I couldn't imagine anyone ever telling me I wouldn't be able to have children naturally. Callers suggested she use IVF, adopt, etc. Egg donation became a big topic. She could use someone else's eggs. As I listened to more of her story I wondered how many women were told every day they were infertile. Having to work didn't seem like such a problem anymore. And after having Taylor I knew being a mom was the greatest gift in life and every woman should be given the opportunity to feel such joy.
I went home, told DJ what I had heard on the radio and told him I wanted to become an egg donor. The next day I researched egg donation, applied for two clinics and waited for a response. Shortly after applying, I got a phone call. I had been accepted as a donor by The Colorado Center For Reporductive Medicine.
In the next couple of weeks I would go through a handful of tests, visits and phone calls. I had 13 vials of blood drawn for every genetic test that could affect any potential offspring. I had ultrasounds to see how many egg follicles I had on each ovary. I had a physical, met with a psychologist, took personality tests, and went over all the legal formalities of being an egg donor. Now I just had to wait. The easy part was done.
When a couple decides to use egg donation as a means of getting pregnant, they go through file after file until they find that special someone they think would be a good fit for them. To them I don't have a name, but a donor number. They got to see a baby picture of me, read about my hobbies, interest, family traits, religion, ethnicity, race, personality. I felt like it was an anonymous job interview. But in early May 2009 I was 'picked'. I felt like someone adopted me. I felt honored that a couple found me as a good fit to help them become parents. I felt deep joy knowing that a woman I had never met was going to be given the chance to become a mom because something I could give her.
The process of donating eggs is not easy. I needed to start and stop taking birth control every few weeks to get my cycle exactly one week ahead of my recipients cycle. Once we were on track I started the medication. I took one birth control pill, one dexamethasone pill and one injection of lupron every night. After a week I stopped the birth control, continued with the other pill and injection. During this time I went in for regular blood draws and ultrasounds. I got nothing but bad news. Because I had to start and stop my period so often I had cysts on my ovaries. They went away but every time they changed the birth control I got another cyst. I was frustrated, felt like I was wasting my time, felt like I let my recipient couple down.
Fast forward to now. It's the end of March 2010. One year after I applied and was accepted to be an egg donor. Because of the continuing cyst problem I do not have a recipient couple anymore. My body didn't like the process and wasn't going to work with me. Instead, I am still a donor, but my eggs will be retrieved and frozen for anyone to use. This way my body can stay on it's own track and I can stop forming cysts.
It started at the beginning of March. I started the birth control, went in for ultrasounds and blood work. 17 days in and I started my injections again. Now I was taking a birth control pill, dexamethasone pill and an injection of lepton every night. (This was the farthest I had ever gotten since my cysts always stopped the process). On the 21st I stopped taking my birth control, and continued with my other medications. Friday I went in for blood work, an ultrasound, pre-op physical and urine sample. I was given the "GO" that I was cyst free and would start my stimulation meds in a few days. Sunday I started taking one injection in the morning, two injections at night and a pill. Every day, starting today, I go in for an ultrasound and blood work. They measure the size of my egg follicles on each ovary and the size determines the amount of medicine I inject every night.
This is my box of "Donor Meds"
I will be going in for the retrieval surgery anywhere between April 7-10 depending on how quick my follicles grow.
My leg looks like a battle zone (picture doesn't do it justice). . .
All the red dots are needle marks from last night and this morning. The bruising is from the morning injection. If you inject the medicine too quickly it burns really bad. If you go too slow the needle starts to hurt. 5-10 minutes after the injection, there is a bump at the injection site and it's starting to bruise.
When they say a side effect of the medication is hot flashes they are not speaking lightly. I soak through my pillow and about 2 t-shirts a night while I sleep. I wake up with wet hair.
Before I make it to work now I will have had one injection, one blood draw and one ultrasound (all before 8 am)
But soon someone will be able to announce they are going to be parents because I was able to help them.
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