Before you decide on egg donation IVF abroad remember that this kind of treatment may impact all aspects of your life – both physically and emotionally. You need to be aware that failure might be a possibility. Talk to your doctor and other patients about potential risks and advantages of this kind of treatment. This may help you in becoming familiar with the topic. Below you will find some useful tips on how to prepare for IVF.
Preparing your body for IVF – take care of your health
It is more likely that your treatment will be successful if you are healthy and in a good shape. This means both you and your partner should maintain proper weight, have a balanced diet, abstain from cigarettes, drugs and alcohol and exercise regularly (but not excessively). Try to avoid stressful situations and find some time to relax. That may also mean that you will need to change your lifestyle a bit.
Preparing for IVF treatment – talk to your physician and follow their instructions
Listen to your doctor’s recommendations and suggestions, undergo all tests and take the medications they prescribe you. Follow other instructions – do not assume that you know yourself and your body better than your physician. Remember that it is your right to receive complete information about all possible treatment options, risks and chances for a healthy pregnancy. Consider all aspects of egg donation, if necessary consult more than one doctor and then make your decision. You do not need to hurry with that.
Getting ready for IVF – check all legal issues
Read about legal regulations that concern egg donations. Law may differ between countries and states. The clinic you will choose should provide you with the documentation and legal forms. The documents state the terms of the procedure, ownership rights to the eggs and future responsibility for a child. Make sure that you understand the contents and that all parties have signed them properly. If it is possible, consult a lawyer or law advisor.
Prepare yourself emotionally
If you are getting ready for IVF treatment, talk to your partner about potential consequences of your treatment, share your thoughts and doubts with people you trust, consult with a psychologist. This may help you to handle possible emotional risks and prepare yourself for difficult situations in the future. Therapy is also a great way to alleviate stress and gain additional perspective on what you are going through. It is a challenging moment in your life so do everything to prepare yourself and try to find emotional balance.
Preparing for in vitro – think about financial issues
IVF with donor eggs usually demands more money than regular treatment. It may include additional costs, egg donor compensation or agency fee, extra visits, medication or any other expenses. It is important to be aware of all costs before you start your treatment, especially if you are planning to have your egg donation cycle abroad. Then you also need to think about your travel and accommodation expenses.
Before you start IVF – choose your clinic carefully
Take your time getting ready for IVF treatment with donor eggs and selecting the clinic. The number of possibilities and choices locally or abroad will give you a headache if you try to make a quick decision. This choice will have impact on all other aspects connected with the treatment like the price, travel expenses and all other additional expenses. Choosing a clinic is one of the most important choices and that is why you should not be hasty. A better clinic gives you better chances of getting pregnant so be sure to investigate this matter thoroughly and use the help of services experienced in such tasks.
IVF with donor eggs: what donor do you want? Fresh or frozen eggs?
Another thing you shouldn’t leave for the last minute. You need to decide not only whether you prefer a known donor or anonymous one. Both choices have different implications. Choosing a known donor requires some planning on the future relationship between the donor and the child. Whereas if you want the donor to be anonymous you have to think about the characteristics and attributes. Don’t wait with the thinking till a clinic provides you with the available donors! Think about your preferences earlier. Various countries and clinics have different donor data access policies so sometimes the information available about the donor will be very limited with skin color and standard physical attributes while in other cases you could even know if the donor has freckles and plays the piano.
A very important matter, again think about it earlier; don’t leave it hanging. This might be one of the toughest nuts to crack. Statistically fresh eggs give you a slightly higher chance to successfully conceive and you get more eggs than when deciding for frozen ones. On the other hand, it is said that frozen eggs are cheaper and the egg banks give you a wider selection of donors – however, it’s not a rule. You must also think about the cost of medication for the donor if you want fresh eggs. It can be a bit pricey – usually donor’s drugs are included in the program cost.
Are you prepared for IVF treatment? Organize your time!
Once you know how to prepare for IVF, you will understand that your treatment will demand dedicating time and energy. Think earlier about logistics, time off from work, organizing doctor’s appointments or even booking some extra days off only for yourself. Remember that if you get pregnant, it will affect all aspects of your life. This will be a time when you need to take care of yourself even more.