Report on our experiences — Egg donation in St. Petersburg (translated from German)
After various failed ICSI infertility treatments our fertility clinic suggested that we think about an egg donation. The clinic in St. Petersburg was recommended as the cooperation partner.
I was pretty skeptical at first. Would that still be my child? Would I be able to accept it? After giving the question much thought, after many long conversations with my husband and some of my closest friends and after watching a Hollywood movie about a mother’s love for her adopted son, which admittedly was very soppy, we decided to take this step and opt for an egg donation.
Contact was established via e-mail (written in German); organization and preparation of the treatment were done by my local fertility clinic. I’d like to emphasize at this point that the Russian side was extremely friendly and very considerate of my wishes as regards the appointments.
Unfortunately, the visa procedure is a little complicated. Your visa application must be submitted very early, it must match the days of your stay and is granted only in connection with proof of a hotel reservation, meaning that it’s impossible to reschedule at short notice. By the way, I’d like to recommend the Moyka 5 Hotel, which has small but clean rooms, in-room coffee/tea-making facilities and low rates. It central location is very useful if you want to combine your fertility treatment with some sightseeing.
As a first step, we had an initial consultation at the clinic. The receptionists speak English and are very friendly. Our attending physician, Dr. Zaytseff, has spent many years in Germany and speaks German almost like a native speaker. We were struck by the friendly and helpful way we were treated, a pleasant change compared to the atmosphere at the fertility clinic back home.
During the consultation, all the lab tests were checked, the ultrasound scans were reviewed and we discussed the dates and times for the next steps of the procedure.
The embryo transfer was done five days later and again I would like to mention Dr. Zaytseff’s patient and careful manner. I didn’t get the impression of being one work step of many others on a production line that needed to be taken care of very fast because the next one was waiting already – an impression that I did get “at home” quite often.
Unfortunately, the first treatment didn’t work out. Luckily, some frozen embryos had been stored, so we could try again some 6 months later after we had worked through the initial shock. This time the clinic in St. Petersburg cooperated with my “regular” gynecologist and the embryo transfer was successful.
However, pretty heavy bleeding set in app. 6 weeks into the pregnancy. We immediately followed the instructions we had been given at the clinic in St. Petersburg – we had also bought the necessary medication there because it’s wise to have it on hand when you need it and it’s much cheaper in St. Petersburg. In addition, we sent a text message to Dr. Zaytseff at once. She saw us through this crisis in a competent, patient and encouraging way and, indeed, my condition stabilized.
Medical care in my hometown was provided by my gynecologist. She didn’t have a lot of experience with pregnancies following embryo transfers but diligently followed the instructions from St. Petersburg.
In the meantime, we’re into the 27th week of pregnancy and I don’t think I could possibly love my child even more than I do.
We are very, very grateful to Dr. Zaytseff.
This report was published only after a healthy boy was born
Dr. Zaytseff