Your Initial Consultation
We are very much looking forward to welcoming you to Bridge and at the Initial Consultation, one of Bridge's fertility specialists will explain the treatment programme and the procedures involved in egg donation and assess your suitability to become an egg sharer.
Although we cannot pay you for egg donation, we can reimburse all the reasonable costs you incur. All the medical consultations and tests you require are free, as is Implications Counselling. In addition, we will refund your travel expenses and any other direct costs such as child minders. We will advise you about reimbursement when you visit Bridge.
The Initial Consultation
The Initial Consultation will be with a Bridge fertility specialist who will carry out a health and suitability assessment. This is designed to ensure that your wish to donate is safe and suitable from your point of view. The consultant will also explain the treatment process and answer any initial questions.
Counselling
Counselling is also important at this stage and, if you are married or have a partner, it is important that you are together for a counselling session that may last up to 1½ hours.
Bridge counsellors are highly qualified and fully accredited and have specific infertility counselling training.
You will be able to share any thoughts or concerns, ask questions and explore your feelings thoroughly. The counsellor may introduce ideas and issues that had not yet occurred and assist you towards the important decision to proceed if you or your partner agree it is the right thing to do.
Note: In the unlikely event that you have an infectious disease such as Mumps or Chicken Pox or have been in close contact with a sufferer or have any doubts, telephone us for advice. We may delay your visit until you are sure you are no longer infectious.
If you wish to proceed the next step is to complete the screening tests - you will be tested for HIV, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, CMV and VDRL and you will have genetic screening tests for Cystic Fibrosis, Sickle Cell Trait, Thalasemia and chromosome analysis. This may sound terribly complicated but, after the necessary blood samples have been taken, all this goes on in the laboratory and your participation lasts only a few minutes although it may take up to four weeks for all the results to come back. A Bridge nurse will also take a high vaginal swab and a Chlamydia swab to exclude any vaginal infections. If you would like more information about any of these tests, we will be happy to provide it.
You can come into Bridge for these tests or we can arrange for blood to be taken closer to your home, if this is more convenient, in the same way that we obtain the initial blood for the FSH test. Again, any costs and expenses will be fully refunded.
To make your second visit to Bridge as productive and useful as possible, we also arrange a Nurse's Talk which we know you will find extremely helpful and a Bridge Sonographer will perform a baseline ultrasound scan to look at your ovaries in 3D. This needs to be carefully arranged to take place between days five to ten of your cycle.
The IVF Procedure
Egg donation involves the first stages of an In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) cycle - a procedure first used in 1978 which has developed and matured and is now undertaken by over 30,000 women each year in the UK alone.
IVF literally means the fertilisation of eggs by sperm outside the body.
After all your test results have been received, you will be matched to a recipient couple. We look for recipients who closely match your physical profile although this doesn't determine to whom you will donate as there are other criteria that are important in matching a donor to a recipient. All this will be explained to you at the counselling appointment. The treatment involves a series of injections which are self-administered. If you do not feel comfortable doing this on your own, we can teach a friend or partner, or you can attend Bridge, or we can arrange for the injections to be given locally, possibly by your GP. We advise you to refrain from intercourse during this period and very strongly advise against unprotected intercourse.
During the donation cycle we use medication to manage the body's natural cycle and stimulate the development of additional eggs. These eggs are then collected and fertilised in our embryology laboratory.
We monitor your cycle with ultrasound scans and by taking blood tests which measure your hormone levels.
Nowadays, most women cope well with the IVF cycle but we would be less than honest if we did not warn you that you may feel 'under the weather' while the medication is taking effect. There is also a minute risk of Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS) but this is increasingly rare as the vast experience gained over the years guides our use of medication and helps us to spot any unwanted symptoms at a very early stage. If there are any negative indications, we stop the treatment immediately as your health and safety are our first consideration.
Egg Collection
Finally, we reach the most important stage of all. This is when you come to Bridge for the egg collection.
At this stage, the procedures are very precise and you will have a different injection the evening before at a time specified by your consultant. The egg collection is carried out 35 hours after that injection in our Day Care Unit. You will be sedated (not anaesthetised) and the procedure lasts about 30 minutes. You will be ready to leave few hours after the collection. It is not unusual if you feel some lower abdominal discomfort which may last for a couple of days for which you may take non-prescriptive painkillers.
If you live within the M25 we can arrange for a car service to collect you and return you home after the procedure. If you live further away we will find the best way for you to travel and return. Whatever your travel arrangements, we will take good care of you, provide you with some light food and check that you have somebody with you when you return home.
Bridge is licensed by the Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority to perform IVF, microsurgical fertilisations and treatments using donated eggs and sperm and to store genetic material.
The Bridge Centre Limited, One St Thomas Street, London, SE1 9RY Tel: 020 7403 3363 Fax: 020 7403 8552
Registered in England no: 2042977 Registered office: One St Thomas Street, London, Se1 9RY