Game plan...

We had a good visit with our RE today to discuss in detail the embryo adoption and develop a bit of a plan for moving forward from here. She said that although clinics rate their embryos differently, the information they received about the embryos was very descriptive. She went over the report with both their embryologist and a Ph.D at the University of Kansas Medical School. Overall, their success rate for Frozen Embryo Transfers (FETs) is about half of fresh cycles, so she definitely recommends transferring 2 embryos. She also said that although they would be happy to do the frozen transfer there, we also have the option of doing the transfer at the clinic where the donor family received treatment and where the embryos were both created and frozen. I need to have a sonohystogram done to make sure everything looks good since I had a recent pregnancy, so that was scheduled for next Wednesday. For those of you who aren’t familiar, a sonohystogram is an ultrasound procedure that can determine if there are abnormalities inside the uterus that might interfere with pregnancy.  The procedure involves having a catheter inserted into the uterine cavity, then injecting a small amount of saline into the uterus and using an ultrasound probe to examine the uterus. I've had one of these before prior to our first IVF cycle so I know what to expect, although it was pretty uncomfortable last time it’s nothing I can’t handle.

At first Nick and I were sure that we wanted to do the transfer at our clinic if they would do it, but after looking at the statistics the CDC keeps for success rates at every clinic we’ve found that the donor family’s clinic has much more experience doing FETs as well as much higher success rates (at least from the latest data in 2007). We need to talk about it a little more, but we are seriously considering traveling to the donor family’s clinic to have the FET done. We really just want to have the highest chance of success, and although Nick's been to the northeast once, I've never made it out there, so maybe we could take a little vacation along the way!

I was reminded today at work that although we may feel at times we have it hard, there are always situations which are worse; perspective is worth a lot, and I think all of us can use a dose of that from time to time. I was working with a patient who has been battling cancer for many years. She is relatively young and they’ve determined there is no more that can be done, so I helped to arrange for hospice and walk them through that process. It was a reminder of how sacred life is and that none of us know for certain what lies ahead.