Hi Everyone.
I am 39 yrs old and just got a confirmed proven donor. I am very excited, but nervous.
I have a 5 yr old daughter from previous relationship. She was conceived very easily (at 33). She has heart problems and a genetic syndrome that is most likely related to my fathers exposure to agent orange in Vietnam. He died at 54 from a cancer directly related to AO, so the exposure was significant.
My new DH has never had a child and has low count/morph/motility. Not terrible, but low.
We started cycling at RMA at 38. The RE thought we would get preg first shot IVF. We did PGD because of my daughters issue (I do not carry a gene for her syndrome btw, so it is not something that would be passed down, just a higher incidence in offspring of decendents exposed to AO). Out of 9 embryos, 5 had chrom 17 problem, 1 had Downs. One healthy blast made it to transfer and didn't take.
We then moved to NYU. I responded well to meds, had two cycles, both resulted in 3 quality blasts using ICSI, both times had BFN's. We only transferred 2 each time and have 2 on ice. We didn't do PGD at NYU, our dr thinks it is a waste of time for us.
After the 3rd failure, my DH had his sperm tested for genetic karotyping. All was neg. Despite this, I really worry that there is some problem with his sperm that science just cannot detect yet. Does anyone else think this could be an issue in their own struggles with infertility? My DH also went to Dr. Samy David who did a series of tests on sperm and all turned out OK.
We decided over the summer that we just want to become parents together the quickest way possible. Even though our RE didn't think necessary yet given my egg quality, we decided to start with DE's. I really have no issue with using DE's, especially given the possible genetic issues. In a way it actually is a much more attractive option than using my own eggs.
Now I am struggling with wondering if I am having some sort of autoimmune response to implanted embryos and this is why they never took. But could this have suddenly presented itself as an issue between the ages of 33 and 38? Are my failed IVF's just due to the fact that the majority of my eggs at this age are going to have chromosomal abnormalities and it was the luck of the draw? Should I ask my RE if I can add Heparin or another such med to my protocol just in case that could be an issue? And most of all, if my DH's sperm is able to successfully fertilize eggs, then could there still be a problem that stops implantation? And if that is the case I worry we are wasting time, hope and a lot of money with DE's.
Of course I have asked RE's their opinion on these questions, but we all know different dr's have different theories. I would LOVE to hear some of your feedback on my questions.
Thank you everyone .