Optimising Donor Egg Treatment

12th January 2017

Once you’ve decided to pursue donor egg treatment in America, you’re likely wondering how SGF will optimise your cycle to increase your chances of conception. The donor care team at Shady Grove Fertility has the same goal as all of our patients, to increase your chances of pregnancy to ultimately take home a baby.

Here are some key factors that give our patients the best chance of achieving a healthy pregnancy from donor egg at Shady Grove Fertility.

Optimising Donor Egg Treatment: Experience the Difference of SGF’s Collaborative Patient Care Community

One of the benefits of choosing Shady Grove Fertility is our collaborative patient care community. With over 35 physicians on the team, there is a great deal of collaboration on even the most challenging patient cases. Physicians will frequently consult each other for feedback and recommendations whether it’s in regular, formal clinical and research meetings or journal club, or informally through email. Many will seek feedback about particular patient cases and because everyone has access to the same centralised medical records, providing an assessment or recommendation can often be done in real time.

An additional resource for our physicians is our specially trained embryologists who practice within our brand new, state-of-the-art laboratory—the largest freestanding IVF laboratory in the United States—in Rockville, MD, just outside of Washington, D.C. Our embryologists’ perspective is unique and highly qualified as they see several thousand IVF cycles every year and provide valuable information and insight into every treatment cycle.

Optimising Donor Egg Treatment: Receive Personalised Care

While Shady Grove Fertility has grown to be the largest fertility practice in the United States—with more babies than any other centre—seeking care at such a large practice may sometimes seem intimidating. If you’re a new patient to Shady Grove Fertility, especially if you’ve travelled thousands of miles for care, you may worry that you’ll just be treated like a number at a centre this large. The reality is, and we hear our patients say it time and again, that despite our size, Shady Grove Fertility excels at providing truly personalised fertility care to each and every patient.

You will have a dedicated team who provides day to day continuity of care with seamless personal communication to answer your questions, keep you informed, and support you during what may be a challenging process. Your personalised experience is supported by a state-of-the-art infrastructure that electronically connects you and your care team, laboratory, and financial counsellors. Our system minimises errors, improves efficiency, and respects your valuable time.

During your first visit to America, your dedicated care team will be sure you receive a comprehensive overview of the people and processes involved in your care, including your physician who will discuss your treatment plan with you in detail.

You will also perform a semen analysis (and sperm freeze) and saline sonogram of the uterus (for heterosexual couples) that allow your physician to make unique evaluations based on your individual situation.

You will also have the opportunity to meet with a donor egg recipient liaison to gain permanent access to view our donor profiles. As you may know, SGF has one of the largest donor egg banks of fully screened egg donors who are medically, genetically, and psychologically screened and ready to donate. During this visit, we will teach you how to navigate the database online to find your perfect donor.

Optimising Donor Egg Treatment: Complete Genetic Testing of the Embryos

Another way that SGF will help you optimise your donor egg treatment cycle is through preimplantation genetic screening (PGS), should you choose. The most common cause of first-trimester miscarriage is a chromosomal abnormality within the embryo. Your physician will discuss the option to genetically test each embryo to find those that are genetically normal.

During PGS, an embryologist biopsies each embryo to look for any chromosomal abnormalities that would likely result in implantation failure or miscarriage. Only healthy embryos will be transferred. This extra testing allows you to feel more confident in your treatment choice and informed about your decision making.

Optimising Donor Egg Treatment: Make Positive Lifestyle Changes

Another way that SGF will help you optimise your donor egg treatment cycle is by encouraging you to be in the best possible health as you prepare for your donor egg cycle. Maintaining a healthy body weight is important because there is a strong correlation between a woman’s BMI (body mass index) and her fertility potential. If either you or your partner smokes, we encourage you to quit as well. Smoking can decrease man’s sperm count by 22 percent. Also, it is essential to manage stress and anxiety during donor egg treatment. Join the Shady Grove Fertility Facebook community to find support from past and present patients.

At Shady Grove Fertility, you are never alone as we are always looking for ways to improve your care, whether that’s during in-person consultations, or the behind-the-scenes research, physician collaboration, and continued education for all staff. Together with our state-of-the-art infrastructure, our personalised approach gives you your best chance of success.

If you have any questions about optimising donor egg treatment please call our team at 0208 003 0827, or email Amanda Segal, our International Patient Liaison, at [email protected].

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