phone call from fertility clinic
When the Fertility Clinic called……….
When the Fertility clinic called last week, I was surprised. Not that I don’t talk to clinics every day, but that it was a personal matter, that’s what shocked me.
It was a call from a Fertility clinic that I had been an egg donor at, just about three years ago. It seems that the clinic was setting up an embryo donor program, and that they had contacted the recipients, to see if they would be willing to donate their embryos. They said Yes, enough said…….or so I thought. Well, I thought wrong. This clinic not only had a policy of asking the Intended parents, but also any donors involved in creating the embryos.
As Jenn from the fertility clinic began telling me of the clinic’s policy, and how I would be able to provide an opinion as to where the embryos would go, I realized that the decision to donate was not a decision based on a six-week medical process as I had once thought, but more so a decision that would last for a lifetime. This donation was one of many that I’ve participated in, and was a wonderful, known experience. Being consulted on anything to do with the donation, post donation, was in my opinion a very sweet gesture by the Intended parents, and clinic.
It was funny though, I thought I’d have an opinion on who would receive the embryos, but I didn’t. I realized that I had said goodbye to the eggs at the time of retrieval, and that I was just happy that they weren’t going to be destroyed. Satisfied that someone else would have the opportunity to create their family, through the generosity of the recipient couple I had donated to.
I had never thought of myself as having a say, and even now a week after the clinic called to ask, I’m re evaluating the process of known donations, and even anonymous ones, as this call on a Thursday afternoon truly challenged my thinking as a Donor.
For more information on Egg donation, Embryo donation, or other Fertility related questions, please contact our office at 613 439 8701, Or by emailing us at info@fertilityconsultants.