Cycle #7, IVF #1: Choosing Donor #4

Here I am again, choosing a new sperm donor - this time for my first IVF Cycle. IVF, still hard for me to believe I'm here doing this.

Discussion with Embryologist 

Before I ordered, I called the Embryologist at my RE's office. I haven't worked with her before, since I've only done IUI's. Surprisingly, she called back QUICK and she's really-really nice! I liked her immediately. My questions were around: # of vials needed and type of vial needed. She said I can order an ART vial, which is amazing because it's HALF the price of IUI vials! YES, half the price! I am thrilled about this. ART vials have less sperm vs. IUI vials. For IVF, you don't need as many sperm - especially since I am doing ICSI.

This was the BEST news ever. Saving a little money feels really good.

Choosing Donor #4 

Technically, I can use 2 out of my 3 previous donors, as they have ART vials available.

Donor #1: Used for IUI's 1-4. Not available / no vials
Donor #2: Used for IUI 5. Available
Donor #3: Used for IUI 6. Available

I've decided to go with a new donor -- Donor #4.  I took a look at my previous donors and it's not that I didn't *like* them - I totally did! I just decided to take a new look at different possibilities.

What's interesting and different about doing IVF is that I'm doing ICSI, so the chances of my eggs getting fertilized are higher than a normal IUI where you don't even know if sperm met egg. There's a lot of pressure on Donor #4 because he most likely will be "the one" to help me have Baby C.

Some things stayed the same in my search criteria:

• Height - Over 6 feet tall. 
• Eyes - blue (preferred - not mandatory) 
• No Jewish Ancestry
• Has available ART Vials 
• No Diabetes 
• No major allergies 
• Proven Donor 

What's new: 

• Extended Testing - not all the donors at the sperm bank I've chosen have had extended testing. I didn't really look into that previously. Now, with doing IVF and ICSI - it kind of matters a little more to me. 

Once I inputted that criteria, the number of potential donors shrank. None of my previous donors were included in the Extended Testing. 

There was one donor who popped out to me, his profile caught my eye right away. He met my original search criteria + the extended testing. I liked his profile too. I emailed the sperm bank and received additional photos. The donor's baby pictures are adorable! 

Making the Purchase

The actual purchase was straight forward, since I've purchased from them for my previous donors. I stuck with the same sperm bank since I've had amazing customer service from them. Now, I have downloaded all the information off the website for this donor. My 3 month subscription to donor profiles will be expiring at the end of this month. Hopefully I won't have to order donor sperm ever again!! Will see how it goes...! I only ordered 1 ART vial. Believe it or not, Donor #4 only had 1 ART vial available for purchase. Glad I was able to snatch it up.

Next Step: Donor Sperm to arrive by 11/16.

For more details on my IVF process, see my IVF Calendar/Timeline.