Family Creations Blog —

The Donor Egg Decision - By Dr. Guy Ringler with California Fertility Partners

by Admin on October 15, 2009

THE DONOR EGG DECISION
By Guy Ringler, M.D.

THE TREATMENT OF INFERTILITY HAS UNDERGONE DRAMATIC IMPROVEMENTS IN THE LAST TWENTY-FIVE YEARS. THE APPROACH TO TREATMENT HAS CHANGED AS SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND CLINICAL PRACTICE HAVE ALL PROGRESSED IN THIS STILL RELATIVELY NEW AREA OF MEDICINE. AS A RESULT OF THESE ADVANCEMENTS THE PREGNANCY RATES TODAY WITH IVF AND THE ASSISTED REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGIES ARE HIGHER THAN EVER BEFORE.

For individuals and couples who are unable to conceive with basic infertility treatments such as intrauterine inseminations, IVF offers the greatest chance for achieving a successful pregnancy. The basic requirements for IVF are good quality eggs, healthy sperm, and a receptive uterine environment. One of the most important factors determining the overall success rate of IVF is the age of the woman producing the eggs. As the age of a woman increases, not only does the number of eggs remaining in the ovaries decrease, but the number of chromosomally normal eggs decreases as well, resulting in fewer normal embryos available for initiation of pregnancy. To counteract this effect, we generally transfer more embryos into the uterus per IVF cycle as maternal age increases. If a woman does not produce a sufficient number of eggs in response to ovarian stimulation drugs, if the eggs retrieved in an IVF cycle are assessed to be of poor quality, or for patients who are in their middle forties, donor eggs are a good treatment option. Egg donors are healthy young women, ages 21-34 years of age, who have been carefully pre-screened, and selected by the recipient individual or couple. The egg donor essentially undergoes an IVF cycle. Her ovaries are stimulated to make multiple eggs and since she is young, the egg quality is very high. The clinical pregnancy rate using donor eggs is approximately 60-65% per embryo transfer with a live birth rate of 50% (CDC, National Summary 2002). Other indications for the use of donor eggs would include: absent ovaries secondary to disease or genetics, to bypass known genetic disease, premature ovarian failure, and initiation of pregnancy for gay individuals and couples. Although the success rate with donor eggs is several times higher than possible pregnancy rates for patients with decreased ovarian reserve, the decision to proceed with this treatment option can be agonizingly difficult for many patients. The decision to proceed with donor eggs means one has to give up their pursuit to have a child using their own genetic tissue, and this can be a major stumbling block for many individuals. Why is it so difficult for many individuals to not reproduce using their own genes? Is it our innate biological drive that makes us persevere to have our own offspring, or is it our success driven culture that makes it hard for us to “give up?” My experience has taught me that everyone must come to terms with this issue in their own way, in their own
time. Consultation with a clinical psychologist with experience counseling couples with infertility related issues is a
good starting point. It is essential that one has been carefully evaluated by a reproductive endocrinologist and has been informed of success rates with all of the treatment options. Recently, I had the opportunity to visit with a former patient who had undergone fertility treatments including donor egg. She shared her joy over her newborn son. Her comments on her journey to donor egg were very insightful and I thought they might be helpful to others who may be dealing with these issues. I decided to conduct an interview and share her story with you.

Dr. Ringler: “When you presented for evaluation of infertility we discovered a very large uterine polyp that filled the uterine cavity and could have prevented conception. After recovering from surgical excision of the polyp, we outlined a treatment plan of several cycles of ovarian stimulation with insemination. If you did not conceive within this interval we would then re-group and discuss other options. Since you were 44 years of age, and the success rate with IVF is not significantly higher than IUI for most patients at this age, in vitro was not presented as a viable treatment option. However, IVF with donor egg was mentioned as a treatment alternative. Can you remember your response to the donor egg option?”
Robin: “Yes, I was determined to have a child with my own egg. That was why I came to you for treatment. I wanted my own child, like I had with Mark – my first son, and I thought that I just needed a little bit of help, perhaps some inseminations. Since I hadn’t had any difficulty the first time, I assumed it would be pretty easy even though I was 44 years old. At my initial consultation, you discussed the effects of aging on pregnancy and miscarriage rates. You were direct and to the point; there was nothing flowery about it. You gave me realistic expectations and it was helpful to hear this. You made me feel comfortable. Pregnancy wasn’t a pipe dream; it was something that was a reality the way you presented it to me. Although the statistics were not encouraging, I really believed that I could achieve it with my own egg at that point. You stressed that we needed to be realistic, and encouraged us to give it a “stop treatment date.”

Dr. Ringler: “Had you and your husband discussed donor egg prior to that date?”

Robin: “We had, but we immediately dismissed the idea.”

Dr. Ringler: “Why was that?”

Robin: “It wasn’t ideally what I wanted. I was only focused on what I thought I could do, and I wanted to just focus on getting pregnant with my egg and not think about anything else. I just wanted to concentrate on getting pregnant. My father had passed away just two months prior to starting fertility treatment, and that was another determining factor, I wanted his lineage to continue through me, and I felt really strongly about that. There were no male offspring that had my father’s last name, and I wanted my father’s name to continue. That was probably one of the strongest factors as to why I needed my own egg.”

Dr. Ringler: “We encountered difficulty getting your ovaries to respond to the medication. The goal of this therapy is to increase the number of eggs released each cycle. When your ovaries did not respond in an encouraging manner, how did this make you feel?”

Robin: “Every time that I had a menstrual period I was completely devastated. After the second or third time I began to entertain the thought of donor egg because my stop date was approaching quickly. It was very painful going through it; not the injections – those were easy – it’s psychologically – when you fail each month, it means that you didn’t have an egg that lived. So as we got closer to my stop date, I began to ask questions about donor egg and you suggested that I meet with a psychologist to explore all the issues that it brings up. I made an appointment with the psychologist, even though I still was hoping that it would be my egg that would get me pregnant, but I thought I would at least talk to her about the option. After hearing my history, the psychologist seem to encourage me to pursue donor egg, which I really didn’t want to hear at that point, but she said something that hit home with me. She said that I’m listening to you and what you told me when you first came in was that the most important thing for you and your husband, is to have a sibling for your son and that donor egg is a way that you can make that happen. That statement stayed with me as I continued to try with my own eggs. It was very helpful because when we finally reached the stop treatment date, I pulled that out from my brain and presented it to my husband as we discussed our next steps.”

Dr. Ringler: “Were those easy discussions? Did you know that you would proceed with donor egg or did you consider stopping your attempts all together?”

Robin: “The two of us had individually mulled over what we were going to do, and when we sat down to discuss it, we broke it down to three options: either no sibling for John, donor egg, or adoption. We eventually chose donor egg because even though we both felt that we could love any child, the bonding process that occurs when you carry a child for nine months, might be stronger than the bonding that occurs through an adoption process. In addition, the donor egg route enabled us to use my husband’s sperm, and thus allow his genetic material to be a part of our new
family member. We decided that stopping attempts at adding to our family was not an option for us. We really wanted a sibling for our son. It was very important to us for him not to be an only child because we didn’t want him to be left alone when we were gone. We wanted our children to be connected to family and not to be alone in the world.”

Dr. Ringler: “So you decided that you would proceed with donor egg because it would lead to a sibling for your son and it would give you the opportunity to bond during the gestation. What was the donor
selection process like for you?”

Robin: “It was very interesting because you have to really be honest to yourself about what matters to you. What is it that really matters to you? Is it education, music, ethnicity?”

Dr. Ringler: “Did you make a list of what was important to you?”

Robin: “I don’t think we ever wrote it down, we just discussed it. We spent a lot of time with it. We are an inter-racial couple and I wanted my son to look like my family. I am a black American woman and my family is a mixture of so many different ethnicities and I wanted someone who had a multiple of ethnicities in her family as well. So that was kind of interesting to find. It was a difficult process…because there were some great, highly educated candidates, but they didn’t look like me, so I couldn’t choose them. My family mixture is black, American Indian, European, and Cuban. The second most important factor was education…college with a good grade point average…and third, music in the family.”

Dr. Ringler: “Are your family members extremely musical?”
Robin: “Yes, Steve is a musician and I am a singer. We found a woman from an interracial family with a mixture of black, European, and American Indian. She was in graduate school and her mother was a teacher. There was even some music in the family.”

Dr. Ringler: “During this time while you were choosing a donor, were you completely comfortable with the concept, or did you entertain doubts?”

Robin: “Yes, I had some second thoughts, even after we had made our selection.”

Dr. Ringler: “How did you deal with those doubts?”

Robin: “My fear was that once I had the baby, I wouldn’t think of him as being mine. I remember talking to you and my gynecologist about these fears, but I didn’t share this fear with my husband because I didn’t want to plant a seed that there was some doubt. I am happy to say that those thoughts have vanished. In fact recently I found an envelope with photographs of the donor and some of her family members that I was given in the selection process. When I looked at the photo, I saw a stranger. I didn’t see my newborn son, and I didn’t think - oh this is where he came from. I realized that I didn’t need these photographs to remind me of where he came from, so I stored them away. Once the baby is in your arms, you don’t think about it and you don’t look at him and think he’s not mine. It’s very interesting because people stop me on the street and say things like oh he has your nose, he has your eyes.”

Dr. Ringler: “During the pregnancy, did you need to learn to think of him as yours and not as a product of the egg donor?”

Robin: “Early on in the pregnancy, I had some thoughts about whether this was my baby or part of the donor…and then those thoughts just sort of evaporated and he became mine. And now I look at him and he’s definitely all mine. But it wasn’t always so easy. I really did think when I was going through the donor selection process that it was going to haunt me every waking moment of my life that it really wasn’t my child, but that hasn’t happened and I’m so glad. I can talk about this very lightly now.”

Dr. Ringler: “What was the fear? That you wouldn’t be able to relate to the child or that he would just seem foreign?”

Robin: “That he would seem foreign. That I wouldn’t bond. That I wouldn’t feel the same way towards him that I do towards my other son. I didn’t want to have separate feelings for the two of them.”

Dr. Ringler: “And do you feel any different towards them today?”

Robin: “No, they are both my sons and I love them dearly.”

Dr. Ringler: “I think that this is a common fear among women going through this process.”

Robin: “Yes, I think it is. In fact, I have a friend who had gone through this process before me and she was very open about the whole thing. She had no doubts in her mind whatsoever that her child was completely hers, and I really admired her for having that strength, but I didn’t think that I would be able to do it. But I did.”

Dr. Ringler: “Congratulations!”

Robin: “Thank you.”

Dr. Ringler: “What advice would you give other women who are facing these issues and decisions?”

Robin: “I think that you need to be very honest with yourself and find out what’s really important to you. If you can be that honest with yourself and really find out what that important thing is for you, and go in that direction, then you won’t have any doubts. It’s something that you must feel comfortable with, and not forced or talked into, and then you’ll be fine.”

Dr.Ringler: “Thank you for sharing your story with us. It’s very gratifying to hear of your successful pregnancy outcome and see how happy you are with all of the decisions and choices you made to add to your family.”

My reason for presenting this patient’s personal story was to help other women who might have some of the same fears and uncertainties about a donor egg pregnancy as those expressed by this woman. The use of donor eggs in the treatment of infertility provides a strong and successful tool that enables many women to fulfill their dream of getting pregnant. In my clinical experience, most individuals initially express some reservation about the concept, but after careful contemplation and personal exploration, they are able to overcome these doubts and proceed confidently. After the birth of the child, all patients are able to accept their new family member with open arms and hearts, and any fears which they may have hidden along the way seem to vanish.

Dr. Guy Ringler is a board certified Reproductive Endocrinologist and an Assistant clinical Professor at the UCLA School of Medicine. Dr. Ringler studied medicine in Michigan, and then trained in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Chicago. He completed his fellowship training at the University of Pennsylvania where he gained extensive experience in microsurgery, performed basic science research and practiced clinical infertility. Dr Ringler can be reached at 310-828-4008, www.lainfertility.com

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Family Creations Featured in ForbesWoman

by Admin on September 29, 2009

Family Creations and its Founders Julia Alkire and Stephanie Goldman-Levich have been featured in the September issue of ForbesWoman.

: Stephanie Goldman-Levich (left) and Julia Alkire (right) Photo by: Jeff Minton

Entrepreneurial Success in Your 20s: Julia Alkire & Stephanie Goldman-Levich

Founders of Family Creations

Julia Alkire and Stephanie Goldman, now both 27, met in their early 20s at a California-based egg donation agency. Alkire specialized in recruiting healthy egg donors. Goldman worked with recipient parents who’d had difficulty conceiving on their own.

They shared a tiny office space and became close friends who vented workplace frustrations and dreamed of how things would be if they were in charge. Then in 2005, over lunch at a Taco Bell, the idea hit: Why not start their own company? Alkire pulled out a notepad and started outlining how their egg donation business would look.

They got help from Goldman’s father, a CPA, who invested in their company and persuaded a colleague to do the same. That $100,000 seed money was all they needed to launch Family Creations–a name they invented while taking a work break on playground swings.

For a month they met daily at a Los Angeles public library–because both women lived in small apartments without computers–to plan the launch.

After renting an office in Woodland Hills, a Los Angeles suburb, Goldman pitched the company to physicians, whose referrals connected them to potential recipient parents. Alkire conducted Web marketing to locate donors and screened for factors such as age and health. She weeded out about 75% of applicants to guarantee strong donors.

By 2008 they had 500 egg donors in their system, up from an initial 200, and revenues of $430,000. After only three years they’ve quadrupled their initial investment. Next year they plan to open a second office in San Francisco and also launch a surrogacy program for prospective mothers who can’t carry a pregnancy.

Such entrepreneurial success in one’s 20s has special challenges. At first Goldman worried that doctors wouldn’t take her seriously. But then she realized that her knowledge, confidence and conservative business attire worked in her favor.

Alkire had to get comfortable supervising employees who were considerably older than she–including a case manager in her 50s. She used to avoid revealing her age but now says proudly: “Yes, I am 27 and I own a successful company. It’s possible.”

The pair remain close (Alkire was a bridesmaid at Goldman’s July wedding) and lean on each other in what can be an emotional profession. “When we get a call from a parent saying they didn’t get pregnant, sometimes I’ve had to close the office door and cry,” says Alkire. “But when we get the call saying that they are pregnant, we jump up and down and celebrate with them.”

By: Jenna Goudreau

ARTICLE CAN ALSO BE VIEWED HERE: http://www.forbes.com/2009/09/28/fertility-infertility-egg-donation-forbes-woman-entrepreneurs-small-business.html

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Egg Donor Shares About Her First Dr.’s Appointment

by Admin on September 3, 2009

Walking into the doctor’s office for my first appointment was such a surreal experience. Sure I signed in and sat down to wait, just as I would for any regular check up with my primary care physician, but looking around at all of the people in the waiting room you see so many different emotions on people’s faces. There are couples sitting together holding hands, just hoping for the best. I think that this must be how my recipients look when they come in for appointments: worried, anxious and excited. There was a woman with a little girl in a stroller and I couldn’t help but think that that little girl was conceived with the help and compassion of an egg donor like me. Seeing the joy in the mothers face was why I was at this clinic. Most donors don’t get to meet their recipients but seeing all of these hopeful parents waiting for their chance to have a family really puts things in perspective. Once I stepped into that room and saw their faces the thought of the monetary compensation just floated away. Now I realize just how big of a commitment this process is and I know that I am going to do anything that I can to ensure a smooth cycle.

I was then called in to a room to have a pelvic ultrasound done. The doctor was very friendly and thorough. I found that he spoke in very technical terms so I made sure to ask a lot of questions so that I knew what was going on. I then went to have my blood drawn. The nurse had a little trouble finding a vein but she went to get me a juice pouch and comforted me before trying again (I am not too fond of needles).

After my screening was complete I sat down to speak to the nurse practitioner about my cycle. She was very informative and answered all of my questions. She called me later the same day to let me know that the results came back and looked really good. The clinic’s very personable nature is very comforting and I know that they will be taking really good care of me throughout the cycle.

Anxiously awaiting further instruction,
Emily

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My Experience as an Egg Donor – part III

by Admin on June 4, 2009

Family Creation’s donor Jill has completed the egg donation process. Below, she talks about the procedure and about her experience as an egg donor.

My Experience as an Egg Donor – part III

I was so nervous the day of the egg retrieval. I was just lying in the bed at the surgery center completely overwhelmed with nerves. The nurses asked me several questions and I did a urine test. They took a little more blood and then put in an IV. The best part was the wonderful warm blankets they gave me. Those are like heaven. The doctor came over briefly to talk to me and then the anesthesiologist came over and gave my IV an injection of meds. He said “You’ll feel a tingling in your arm and then you’ll get sleepy.” They started to wheel me towards the surgery room. I thought “Oh, wow, I do feel a tingling in my…” and before I could finish the thought I was sound asleep.

I woke up feeling as though I’d just woken up from a deep sleep. I was a little groggy, but it mostly felt like they hadn’t even done anything. I went home about 20 minutes after I woke up. It was that quick, that easy.

I slept most of the day. I felt a tiny bit of pain, so I took the painkillers they gave me and put a warm compress on my abdomen and slept. That evening I had some soup and ginger ale and then slept some more. The next day I felt pretty good. I even went out for brunch. And then I slept the rest of the day.

Today is four days after the egg retrieval and I feel perfectly fine. I’m not allowed to exercise though or take baths till I get my next period. That’s the worst part. I feel fine, so it’s frustrating to not be allowed to exercise.

The egg retrieval and recovery have been much easier than I expected. The entire egg donor process has been easier than I expected. The only negative has been that the timeline they gave before I started the process was not really accurate. I remember being told the entire process would take about 2-3 months. The process for me has taken a full 4 months.

The main question I get asked now is “Will you do it again?” I honestly don’t know yet. While it has been much easier than I thought it would be, it has taken much longer than I thought it would… and I’m looking forward to having my regular life back: exercise, fitting into my jeans, going out at night, not having needles poked into my body…

I know a lot of women first consider egg donation because of the money. Having gone through the process, I think that would be the wrong reason to do this. There are probably easier ways to make this amount of money over 4 months.

However… donating eggs to a couple who want children seems like one of the greatest gifts you could ever give another human being. You are giving of yourself… to help a stranger. And for that reason alone, becoming an egg donor is truly an extraordinary act of kindness and generosity.

For me, being an egg donor is something that I will always be proud I did.

By the way, they retrieved 12 eggs from me. The couple still has to wait before they’ll know if they are pregnant or not. In many ways, the process is barely beginning for them. They continue to be in my thoughts and prayers.

Donor - Jill, California

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My Experience as an Egg Donor – part II

by Admin on May 15, 2009

Family Creation’s Donor Jill continues her account of the egg donation process. Here, she describes the medication and how it felt administering the injections. Her retrieval is soon – and her recipients are beyond excited. She will share her egg retrieval experience, and her final thoughts on the process in an upcoming post. Stay tuned!

My Experience as an Egg Donor – part II

The dreaded shots. No matter how many times I was given reassurance that they would be easy and surprisingly painless… I didn’t believe it. And now I’m going to offer you that same reassurance that I didn’t believe. The shots truly are easy and surprisingly painless. It hurts more to get your eyebrows waxed. The needles are quite small and if you numb the area with ice first then you’ll barely feel a thing. The Lupron shots were the smallest and the easiest. The FSH comes in a “pen” and you have to push the top part in to make the “pen” inject the medicine. The trick here is to hold it as still as possible. The less you wiggle the needle around the less you feel it. Another tip if you do feel any discomfort is to hold a warm compress over the area after the shot. All shots included, I gave myself 31 injections over 21 days. I did all the injections in my thighs because it seemed to provide the most area to choose from so I could move the shots around and not inject myself in the same place twice. By day 17 my thighs did feel a little tender and I have a couple of itty bitty bruises, but it really was much easier than I ever thought it would be. Even the HCG shot wasn’t nearly as bad as I feared. By the way, the big needle that comes attached to the syringe for the HCG… the big needle that looks so scary… is not the needle you inject yourself with. The big needle is just used to prep the medicine. Then you swap it out for the injection needle which is smaller… much, much smaller.

Throughout the 21 days I was doing injections I had 6 ultrasounds and 7 blood withdrawals at the doctor’s office. The ultrasound is super easy. The technician gave me a piece of paper to write numbers down as she measured them on the ultrasound screen. She didn’t volunteer the information, but when I asked, she said the numbers were the measurements of my follicles and that the goal was at least a size of 18. It helped to know that a 14 meant a few more days of injections and that 22 meant I was really close to being done.

The only thing through this process that was in any way unpleasant was the blood withdrawals. Having a needle poked in your vein to withdraw blood is just not the same thing as injecting a needle into your thigh. My veins seem particularly small and hard to find, so almost all of the blood was taken out of the same vein. And it got pretty bruised and sore. The technician gave me a tip: apply pressure to the area for 2-3 minutes after getting the blood withdrawn to alleviate the bruising. That did help, but this was the one thing that actually hurt.

Other than that, it’s all been really easy. I tend to be a bit of a health nut, so I was a little nervous about what it would be like to have all these hormones pumping through my body. But the only symptoms I’ve experienced are a bit of bloating and being a bit more tired than usual. I’ve taken a lot of naps in the past couple of weeks. And in the final week I just started wearing my sweat pants instead of trying to squeeze into my jeans. I tried to just take it easy. I mean, during this time, your body is dealing with so many hormones and growing follicles and such…so it just seems like the right time to relax on the sofa and catch up on tv shows and magazines. And I am very much looking forward to some pampering at Burke Williams Spa after the egg retrieval.

Donor – Jill, California

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Illuminations

by Admin on April 22, 2009

Co-Founders Julia Alkire and Stephanie Goldman-Levich at Illuminations ~ Benefit for the AFA

A few weeks ago, Family Creations had the pleasure of attending Illuminations, a benefit for the American Fertility Association. The evening took place at a landmark estate in Pacific Palisades, overlooking the beautiful waters of the Pacific. It was an opportunity for colleagues and friends to come together and not only re-connect, but also help raise the needed funds for such a wonderful and important program.

Brenda Strong, Actress from Desperate Housewives and National Spokesperson for the American Fertility Association conducted the evening. Brothers and Sisters Actor Luke Macfarlane was in attendance and Actress Jennifer Beals from The L Word presented the first ever Joyce M. Vargyas, M.D. Visionary Award to Dr. Daoshing Ni from the Tao of Wellness. Andy Garcia and George Lopez also recognize the importance of the AFA’s mission, as one of the items being auctioned was a round of golf with the both of them.

All in all, it was a beautiful star filled evening, which most importantly, raised over $65,000.

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Client Testimonial

by Admin on April 21, 2009

We received a very nice update and testimonial from a past client of ours that we would like to share.

“We have only positive things to say about Family Creations and its co-founders, Stephanie Goldman and Julia Alkire.

Deciding to use an egg donor was emotionally difficult for us. We already tried other assisted methods to conceive and were tired and skeptical of more “medical science” by the time we chose the donor route. As we began the process of exploring donor agencies, we realized that most of the others were impersonal, distant and largely web-based. Family Creations was the opposite: They made the pathway so much easier and comforting.

We had the unique experience of working with FC on two separate donors. Nothing is 100% certain in the fertility world, and for purely medical reasons, our first donor-transfer was unsuccessful. Even still, that donor was exceedingly well-screened by FC, and was very responsible in meeting her commitments and obligations to us. The second donor did result in a successful transfer and the outcome was the birth of a healthy baby girl in early 2009.

Stephanie and Julia have been very professional in their dealings with us and were especially compassionate and sensitive to our needs. Both donors that they recommended were fully acquainted with the process, were well screened, and were fully committed to the process. We found every aspect of our involvement with FC to be a delight. FC exceeded our expectations in every possible way.”
R&N

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My Experience as an Egg Donor – part I

by Admin on April 16, 2009

One of our donors has graciously agreed to document her egg donation journey through several installments on our blog. This donor has been selected by a couple and is a week away from starting her medication. We hope that her story will provide insight to anyone considering the rewarding process of becoming an egg donor.

My Experience as an Egg Donor – part I

The first thing that impressed me when I met with Family Creations was the individual attention. I had explored other egg donor agencies and often the meeting is held in a group setting which seems to make the prospective donors feel like just that… egg donors. But at Family Creations, my meeting with Julia Alkire was one on one. She made me feel like an actual person who just happened to be donating my eggs. She talked me through the donor process and asked me so many questions about myself. She really got to know me during that meeting and it felt comforting to know I was more than just a name on a profile page. The one on one setting also allowed me to ask all of those questions that feel so embarrassing to ask, but are also so important.

Once my profile was up with Family Creations, it was mostly a wait-and-see process. My belief with the entire egg donation process has been that if it is meant to be, prospective parents would pick me. Within a few weeks, I had a call from Stephanie Goldman that I had been selected by prospective parents. It was exciting in that way of unknown experiences. I was just starting out with the process and even though I had read all about it, and talked to people about it… it was now going to become my personal experience.

The screening process for me started with a preliminary blood test and ultra sound. Very simple, very quick. Once those results were back I started taking birth control pills. I also started my phone consultations for the psychological and genetic screenings. I’ve learned so many interesting things about my family tree going through that process and asking my family for information on different relatives!

The final step was the full medical screening. This included a pelvic exam, urine test, and blood tests. So many little vials of blood. They truly test for everything! And the pelvic exam hurt a little because they can’t use the usual lubricant (it can impact the test results). That was also the day I met the doctor. He attended medical school where I attended undergrad… so I had the added bonus of being fellow alum with him. He got a kick out of that.

Waiting for these final results took two weeks and I was so nervous. It felt so important that I “pass” the tests. I didn’t want to let the parents-to-be down. (As if I had any control over the outcome!) Fortunately everything came back looking good and I am currently in the process of finalizing the legal contracts so I can begin the shots.

The process so far has been a lot of waiting. Wait to be selected. Wait for blood test results. Wait for screening results. Wait for more blood test results. And then waiting now for the legal contract. It would be easy to get nervous during all this waiting if it weren’t for my case manager Stephanie. She has been available to me for every question or concern that has come up. And trust me, there have been a lot. No matter how much you know going in, it still feels a little scary to be going through it. Which is why the personal attention from Stephanie has meant so much. She’s been a constant guide through the process.

As I now wait for the legal contract… the reality of giving myself shots is setting in and I’m getting a little nervous about it. I’m not a big fan of needles. But the thing that keeps me going through all of this is thinking of the parents-to-be. Here are two people that I have never met, who want a child… and they have asked me to help them with that. They don’t know me, but they have put their trust in me… and as much as the waiting has been difficult for me, I can only imagine how hard the waiting has been for them.

Of course there is a monetary reason for doing this… but once you get into the process, the money part fades away… and it really becomes all about this couple who want a child, and my ability to help them.

Donor – Jill, California

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Finding a donor is now easier with Family Creations!

by Admin on April 15, 2009

Family Creations has launched an exciting new website tool which allows you to sort our extensive library of donors for the characteristics that are most important.

Clients are now able to sort by name, hair color, eye color, height, new donors, previous donors, status, and state. We also now list in each profile which major city the donor lives closest to. This helps give you a better idea of where the donor is located.

Once you log in with the password, you will see arrows under each category. By clicking on the arrows, our website will sort the data you are requesting.

Please contact Family Creations if you are in need of a password. We currently have over 450 available egg donors with more being approved on a daily basis.

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Welcome to the Family Creations Blog!

by Admin on April 1, 2009

Family Creations is an internationally recognized egg donor program. We work with recipients all over the world who come to us in hopes of finding the right donor to help them achieve their dream of parenthood. We also work with donors all over the United States! These amazing young women give themselves to this incredible process – with hopes of helping future parents achieve their dream.

We at Family Creations are so blessed to be a part of this experience!

We will be posting information and updates on this blog about our program. We will share news articles that are related to the field of third party reproduction. Donors will share their experiences. And recipients will tell their tales of success.

Thanks for stopping in and we look forward to connecting with you through this exciting new avenue!

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