Thing just got complicated! Please advise!!

karin12345

Anyhow able to offer advice that would be great.

In a nutshell:
-Just finished first IVF cycle. Got 3 morulas but only ONE blast. PGD results are pending.
-B/c I got it through a study, this study is now limiting my options. They say that I HAVE to put the embryo back before attempting future treatment
-My doctor battled it out with them, and they agreed that I could do a freeze all cycle, but not a fresh cycle, and that I can't use the embryos from the second treatment until I use the first embryo (even if the quality of the next treatment produces better embryos).

That's where I'm at. Obviously there are a million implications. On the one hand, I'm FURIOUS that this study is dictating reproductive decisions that should be mine to make. On the other hand, maybe I should take it as fate, use the one embryo, if I DO get pregnant with my little guy/gal, then accept that it is a blessing and there will be no siblings. Or .... walk down a much more invasive, involved path of doing another freeze all cycle, then using the one, then having those embryos "banked" for future treatment (if my first cycle fails or for sibs).

Thoughts???

Thank you everyone!!!!

Karin

bnrdg

Being a scientific researcher myself, I hope to shed a little light (not saying it's right, but why).

Biomedical research studies have to have their research protocols reviewed and approved by several governing bodies before they can begin. This process can take a little as 6 months to as long as 36 months. That is a lot of red tape. Any deviation from the protocol requires the study to pretty much stop completely until the changes have been approved by every governing body. Obviously this can be very problematic for time sensitive studies like IVF.

Not saying that this is right. It's not. But if they deviate from their approved protocols not only does it cause problems with the accreditation of the study but the group and lose future study funding and even be banished from performing future research. This is just how regulated biomedical research is.

I'm not sure which choice you should make. That is up to you. This whole process is tough enough as it is without all the extra stuff.

Wishing you the best and sending you baby dust for whichever decision you make.

austingurl123

It would depend how important having siblings, or even full siblings, are to you. When I started this process, I bought 6 vials of sperm. My thought was 3 for baby 1 and 3 for baby 2. Well, it took me 6 IUIs to get pregnant. I really wrestled with using that last vial of sperm because I want full siblings and my donor had already retired. I know if I got pregnant, I would probably never get a full sibling for my baby. Of course, that IUI worked. And I ended up pregnant with twins, but later lost one. Now that my baby is here, I still think about having another sibling for her. I looked into reactivating a donor but it's pretty expensive. If I try for another, my child will probably not have a full sibling. I know my situation is completely different, but I get the idea of wanting to be ready for siblings. I say go for it though. I used my last vial knowing I would probably never get full siblings, and now that she is here, I couldn't care less about giving her a full sibling. Any chid will be raised with her as a sibling, so it doesn't matter to me. I would use that little guy and hope for the best. If you get pregnant and want more later, you will figure it out. Focus on getting the first one here and worry about the rest later.

karin12345

Thanks, Austingirl. That's helpful! I think the whole process lends to this thought that you should prepare for endless possibilities (bank enough sperm, embryos, etc) to prepare for your future family. That is my doctor's perspective, and of course it would be nice to have gotten lots of embryos with the first try.

Of course, I would like the option of a sibling, but honestly, as a single mom and as a doctor, it would be very difficult.

I'd love to prepare for everything life could bring, but I don't know if it's realistic!! Life doesn't always offer endless opportunity.

I will be blessed if I get one child, boy or girl.

Thanks, everyone. Maybe I should just go for it! ... If this one doesn't take, there will still be time for future IVF attempts (I'll be at my job for another 6 months with the same insurance .... after that, things will get tricky).

:-)
KC