Americans, Canadians and Europeans seeking IVF with Egg Donation procedures no longer have to worry about exaggerated costs, limited or no health insurance coverage, and long waiting lines. The current condition of medical care in developed countries has paved the way for medical tourism abroad. Highly qualified doctors and surgeons in Costa Rica, who have been educated in some of the top universities in America and elsewhere, hold clinical positions at state-of-the-art medical facilities that cater mainly to medical tourists. Costa Rica´s medical institutions utilize the newest medical technology and are run by some of the most skilled and qualified medical professionals.
What is IVF with egg donation?
Egg donation, also known as oocyte donation or ovum donation, is the process by which eggs from a third party donor are fertilized with sperm outside the womb (in-vitro fertilization) and then transferred into the uterus of the patient who is trying to conceive. Many women are unable to conceive due to fertility problems related to egg production, such as cancer, autoimmune disease, Turner Syndrome, congenital absence of eggs, premature menopause, or premature ovarian failure. Egg donors should be between the ages of 20-30, and can be a known donor, chosen by the patient, or an unknown donor, in which case the recipient mother would give her fertility care center the necessary criteria for the selection process.
Treatment Stages
1. Screening the couple: The recipient couple will be screened for infectious diseases, such as HIV, Hepatitis B & C and for sexually transmitted diseases such as Gonorrhea, Syphilis, CMV and Chlamydia.
2. Matching the donor to the recipient: Egg donor recipients can choose to receive donor eggs from someone they know, such as a friend or family member, or they can receive donor eggs from an anonymous donor, in which case the fertility care center would match the physical characteristics (ethnicity, height, build, skin type, eye color, hair color and texture) of the donor to the recipient. The fertility care clinics that we are partners with typically seek female university students who are willing to donate their eggs free of charge. During the egg donor selection process, potential egg donors are screened for infectious diseases, mental disorders, genetic medical conditions, and sexually transmitted diseases that could be transmitted to the newborn.
3. Medication: Once the egg donor and the recipient pass all the necessary screenings, both the egg donor and the recipient will be prescribed an injectable medication (such as Lupron) as well as oral contraceptives to synchronize the recipient and the egg donor’s menstrual cycles.
4. Preparation for implantation: The recipient will be given hormone replacement therapy, such as progesterone pessaries, or oral estrogen tablets that will allow the body to imitate the natural ovulation cycle- the ovaries produce hormones that thicken the uterus in preparation for implantation of a fertilized egg. This hormone therapy will prepare the recipient for the transfer. 5. Donor Stimulation: The recipient will then take hormone supplements for about 7-10 days, at which time her blood hormone levels and endometrium (the lining of the uterus) will be carefully monitored. When the recipient’s uterus has thickened sufficiently, the donor will be given hormones that will cause her ovaries to produce several eggs at a time. This is called donor stimulation.
6. Collecting Sperm from the Man: Once the egg donor is ready to have her eggs retrieved, the recipient’s uterus will be in an ideal condition for implantation. At this time, the sperm donor or the recipient’s partner must provide the lab with sperm for insemination, which will enable fertilization.
7. Starting Progesterone Therapy: The recipient will continue taking oral estrogen and she will also start progesterone vaginal suppositories, the final hormone the ovaries would produce to complete the thickening of the uterus.
8. Collecting Eggs from the Woman: Eggs are usually collected by the guidance of an ultrasound, which usually takes about 30 minutes. The doctor will insert a thin needle through the vagina into each ovary. The eggs will then be drawn into the needle. More often than not, eggs are collected by laparoscopy (a small telescope with a light attached). This procedure involves making a small incision in the stomach and extracting the eggs with a fine needle, as before.
9. Fertilization: Once the sperm and egg are collected, the sperm is injected into the egg through the process of ICSI. A thin, hollow needle is pierced through the cell membrane, and is loaded with a single sperm. The sperm is then injected into the cytoplasm of the oocytes to allow fertilization.
10. When to transfer the embryo: The embryo transfer can occur 1-5 days after fertilization occurs, depending on factors that the couple will discuss with the embryologist, such as low sperm count and embryo development. Same day embryo transfer, in which the embryos are transferred about 4 hours after fertilization, is becoming more common, since it allows recipients to undergo the procedure on an outpatient basis. Although embryologists are also recommending that the recipient wait until day five to transfer the embryo, which is known as the blastocyst stage. The blastocyst transfer has also become quite common as it increases chances of successful implantation and decreases the likelihood of multiple pregnancies.
11. Insemination: This process is the last stage of the IVF procedure. It is usually painless and does not require any anesthesia. The embryos are transferred into the uterus through the cervix with a catheter. Typically 2-4 embryos are transferred into the uterus to increase the chances of pregnancy. If done successfully, the patient can go home and should rest for the remainder of the day. A pregnancy test will be given 12-15 days after the embryo transfer. If the IVF is successful, a normal pregnancy can be carried out.
*Note: It is often the case in IVF with egg donation that more embryos are produced than can be used in one cycle. When this happens, those embryos can be frozen and preserved for future use.
Also note that for both menstruating women and menopausal women, the treatment stages are the same. Both must take medication prior to the embryo transfers.
Success Rates: Many factors are to be taken into consideration when calculating the overall success rate of IVF procedures. IVF success rates depend on the age of the woman, the number of embryos transferred and cryopreserved, the recipient’s response to drugs, and the clinic. So, pregnancy rate per cycle can range from 10-50% for women under 35. Success rates slightly decline with older age groups.
Complications: possible displacement of the embryos into the cervix, resulting in a lost embryo, or in the fallopian tubes, resulting in tubal (ectopic) pregnancy; multiple pregnancies. If IVF is successful, a normal pregnancy will be carried out. If IVF with ICSI results in an unsuccessful pregnancy or no pregnancy, different methods of IVF should be considered, such as Sperm Donor IVF or Embryo Donor IVF.
Pain Factor: The last step, transferring the embryo may cause mild bleeding and cramping.
Recovery: After the procedure, the patient should return home to rest for the remainder of the day, and should avoid strenuous activities for the next three days.
Length of stay in country: 21-25 days, 14 if treatment commences in home country.
Coping with infertility: We understand that anticipating the results of IVF can be grueling and stressful on couples, and the possibility of an unsuccessful outcome can be overwhelming. In spite of this, it is important that couples maintain a healthy and clear psyche. Plenty of rest and avoiding stress are highly recommended before, during and after your trip. Keep in mind that you are traveling, which can add more stress on the body. Drink lots of water and try to obtain ample Vitamin D from the sun and fresh air to conquer jetlag.
Choose Visit and Care: Why should you go through the hassle of dealing with several different parties to make reservations and appointments with a doctor when we can handle all of that for you without it costing you a penny more than what you would pay if you were to do everything yourself directly. What is our incentive? We get paid by hospitals and clinics when we refer customers to them. In our agreement with the hospitals and clinics we work with, it states that our customers will not be charged any extra fee by a hospital or clinic, in order to compensate for our fees to them. So, if a procedure costs you 500 dollars when you arrange it through the hospital directly, it will also cost you 500 dollars when you arrange it through Visit and Care. Our goal is to connect our customers to top English-speaking medical professionals in their destination of choice. If you have any inquiries or would like to learn about a procedure that is not listed on our website, please feel free to contact us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We will return to you with an answer as soon as possible.
Our service and benefits include:
• Assistance in communicating with top medical professionals about your medical condition, before and after your procedure.
• Assistance booking hotels at discounted rates
• Optional airport pick-up and drop-off arrangements
• Optional tours around your destination city
• 24-hour, 365-day contact with us in case of any unforeseen emergencies or difficulties. Even though you are away from home, as a Visit and Care customer, you are never alone.
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