Video: Shared Donor Egg Programme

Susan Quinzi- I’ve always wanted to be a mother- I love kids, I teach kids, and I just want that experience to mold a little person. I remember since a very early age wanting to be a mother, so when we found out that wasn’t going to be so easy it was very hard to hear, it took a year for us to actually get to the point where we were willing to go to donor eggs.

Amanda Segal- We definitely have two groups of women looking at going through donor egg one group would be women that are advanced in age versus the younger woman that has been diagnosed with premature ovarian failure and rarely donor egg would be the only option for them too.

Susan Quinzi– When I first got my test results with the premature ovarian failure I thought, “Am I ever going to have children?”

Michele Purcell- The shared donor egg program is a program that allows us to match one donor with either two or three anonymous recipients

Successful Patient- I heard about the shared egg donor program from the website I went online and was very eager to find other options.

Michele Purcell- I think a lot of women like the idea that they can use an egg donor, you know, they get to be the ones to select the donor and ultimately be the one to carry the pregnancy and have that whole bonding experience.

Susan Quinzi- I saw that they had the shared risk shared donor and I thought, “Wow! That might actually be affordable.”

Dr. Levy- The three major benefits to recipients from the shared donor egg program: the one is a larger pool of donors and a significant reduction in the wait time to select the donor. The second is a significant reduction in cost, and the third is a more efficient use of the eggs so recipients did not end up with many unused embryos.

Amanda- What the shared egg donor program did for patients was basically make it affordable. When you’re looking at paying for one cycle, the cost is financially intimidating. When you’re looking at sharing eggs with either one other recipient or even two other recipients you are using your cost almost by 50%.

Michele Purcell- It’s allowed more patients to seek the services of an egg donor and the overall success rate has been excellent.

Amanda- So the shared risk program gives you the ability to do up to six cycles, with the understanding that if you are unsuccessful you get your money back 100-percent.

Susan Quinzi- What made it really available to us was the shared risk due to the fact that we knew after the six fresh cycles that we would get our money back if a pregnancy didn’t happen.

Michele Purcell- Since January 2007 I would say 65 to 75 percent of our patients utilise a shared egg donor, if not more. The great news is we don’t have a wait time for an egg donor, so as soon as someone is in the position where they’ve done their necessary pre-screening; they gain immediate access to our database of donors. We have a lot of patients that come from across the country and we have a lot of patients that are coming from around the world.

Amanda- We coordinate a one to two-day visit for a patient coming in where they have the ability to meet with their doctor, spend time with him, and then do all their pre-screening.

Susan Quinzi- Since I found the right doctor I’ve felt very comfortable, my nurse has been wonderful, I can’t imagine being anywhere else.

Michele Purcell- There’s been no compromise in the success rates by using a shared egg donor.

Amanda- I think that it’s incredible to be able to offer something that is an opportunity where people would have walked away before by creating this shared egg donor program, we’ve opened doors to people that truly would not have gone through treatment.

Michele Purcell- Donor egg has rarely been able to fulfill the lives of so many couples you and allow them to realize their dream of having a baby

Susan Quinzi- It’s a journey, there’s lots and lots of ups and downs, but you got to find the best support system you can find. Find the people who will support you and bring them in close and take care of yourself