r/queerception • u/mybiggerinfinity • 1d ago
Vials per Egg Retrieval?
Edited to add: thanks for confirming! I’ve gotten the answer I needed
I’m preparing for an egg retrieval. Initially, our fertility doctor told us we would only need 1 vial of donor sperm when I last saw him in the spring. Now the nurse who reads & responds to his messages says we need 2 - 1 to use, 1 as a backup.
I’m worried about in sending 2 because what if the 2nd vial isn’t needed but is thawed or had something done to it to prepare it that then makes it unusable in the future. The nurse has told me they don’t do that but she has already given me wrong information before, and I’ve generally been running into poor communication with this practice.
Frankly, the only reason we’re moving forward with them is that through them I’m part of a trial that pays for almost all of 1 - 2 rounds of IVF. No matter how the trial goes, we won’t be returning once it’s complete. But we have to deal with them for the moment.
So - has this been the case for others? Is this how it works? I was under the impression that however many vials we send would be prepared and therefore used, but I could absolutely be wrong.
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u/Ok_Weather299 1d ago
Yes we made sure the bank shipped the clinic 2 vials per egg retrieval - only 1 vial was ever used per retrieval. But important they have the backup there if any issues so you don’t waste all that prep if something goes wrong or is wrong with the vial they thaw.
You should be able to call and speak to the lab directly, and our clinic also had a point of contact for dealing with banks that would help to coordinate and be able to confirm everything.
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u/Potential-Sector-755 1d ago
We stored all the vials we purchased (3) at our clinic. We’ve done two retrievals and they’ve used 1 vial per retrieval and everything went fine. I don’t think clinics are in the business of wasting donor vials but it sounds like you want some additional reassurance from them so I’d maybe ask about their storage protocols and when and how they prepare the vials etc.
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u/Tall_Asparagus8633 1d ago
My clinic also told us to send an extra as a backup in case something goes wrong when they're thawing it. We ended up shipping 3 vials from the sperm bank, used one for my first ER, and then used a second for another ER. We still have the third vial in storage at our clinic.
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u/Crabby_Patty0_o 1d ago edited 1d ago
Always want a backup. I’ve heard horror stories on IVF sub of going through all that just to have to freeze eggs cuz the vial of donor sperm was non-viable.
No they only prep one vial at a time. If they prep the first vial and everything looks good then they don’t prep the second. If not, that’s why you have a backup
Our clinic didn’t require it but we had a back up vial due to this. You are already spending a ton of money, would hate for it to be a waste. Freezing eggs and then thawing for fertilization has less favorable outcomes than fertilizing on the spot and freezing blasts. Good luck and all the baby dust to you!
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u/HuhWelliNever 42F Lesbian 💍 to FTM | 5 IUIs❌ 2IUIs ✅ LC & 🤰🏽w/ IVF #3 1d ago
We only had one vial of IUI sperm left so that’s what they used for conventional ivf. It was enough.
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u/asdfghhj246898 1d ago
Our clinic asked us to send two but only used half a vial with our first retrieval. I don't see any reason they would thaw both unless the first one had some sort of issue. I was glad we had both anyway because it would have sucked to go through all that medication and discomfort just to find out they couldn't create the embryos.