Embryo donation procedure
The embryo donation procedure at AVA-Peter
We aim to make embryo donation at AVA-Peter as easy and stress-free as possible. We know this is especially important for patients coming from other countries. You will need to make either one or two visits to our clinic in St. Petersburg: the first one being to undergo our initial tests (unless these are performed by your local specialist) and the second one for the treatment itself.
Initial Consultation or Shared Care Programme?
Before we are able to treat you, we need to find out about your medical history and perform certain tests. Over the years, it has become apparent that by thoroughly investigating each patient, including the reasons behind their infertility, allows us to offer a better chance of success. It also enables us to treat our patients in a more individual manner. In order to obtain the information we need, we ask you to either come for an Initial Consultation or provide it via a local specialist under our Shared Care Programme.
Until quite recently, we asked all our patients to come to Ava-Peter for an Initial Consultation and then to return again 2 months later for the Embryo Transfer. This meant that they had to come to St. Petersburg twice. Under our new Shared Care Programme, you need only come to St. Petersburg once: for the Embryo Transfer itself. However, this is only possible if you have a local doctor who can perform the initial tests and then liaise with us about the results. This local doctor or specialist will also need to prescribe the medication you require and perform ultrasounds before you return for the Embryo Transfer.
How long will you need to stay in St. Petersburg?
If you come to visit us for an Initial Consultation, you only need to spend one day and one night in St. Petersburg for this first appointment. We do not advise that you should fly here and back on the same day as this will put you under too much pressure timewise and will not allow you to enjoy your visit. The majority of our patients much prefer to spend either the night before or the night after the Initial Consultation in a pleasant local hotel. This means you can avoid rushing around and feeling stressed by possible travel delays or other problems. Staying overnight also allows you to become familiar with the journey, our city, our clinic and our doctors, which reduces the emotional strain of the experience.
How long you stay on your second visit depends on whether you decide to use fresh embryos (from a personal donor or clinic donor) or frozen embryos instead (from our embryo bank). If you choose to use fresh embryos, the Embryo Transfer date can vary by 2 days before or after the planned date. This is because the Egg Collection date can vary by 2 days, depending on the donor’s response to the medication. The donor’s eggs are fertilised with your chosen donor’s sperm on the day of collection, after which the embryos are grown in our laboratory at AVA-Peter for 5 days. Due to these possible variations in timing, you will need to arrange to spend 5 days in St. Petersburg in total. If on the other hand you have chosen to use frozen embryos, we can tell you more precisely on which date your embryos will be ready to be transferred to your uterus. In this case, you will therefore only have to spend 2 days in St. Petersburg.
The Initial Consultation for Embryo Donation
In order to enable us to assess our patients before treatment, we usually request the embryo recipient to visit Ava-Peter in St. Petersburg for an Initial Consultation. We do know that this visit requires a certain amount of time, effort and expense on your part, but it also allows us to offer you the best possible chance you’re your treatment will be a success. At this Initial Consultation, we examine you thoroughly by taking blood samples, checking for any possible infections, performing a smear test and of course assessing the condition of your endometrium. We also take some photos of you as it is important to ensure a good match with our egg and sperm donors, and we discuss the procedure in depth. Assuming that all is well, the next procedure is to match you with the most suitable egg and sperm donors.
If you would like to use fresh embryos from ‘personal’ egg and sperm donors, we will search carefully for an egg donor and liaise with possible candidates about the dates they might be available. The eggs from your chosen egg donor will be fertilised by frozen-thawed sperm from our bank of sperm donors, so we also check the details of our sperm donors to find you the most suitable person.
If you prefer to use fresh embryos from ‘clinic’ donors, the matching process is not as personal as the embryos may be shared among several recipients in order to make the procedure more affordable. However, if you are having fresh embryos transferred, the treatment schedule will be the same as with ‘personal’ donors.
Our third option, using frozen-thawed embryos from ‘clinic’ donors, simply involves defrosting and transferring embryos that are already in our embryo bank. There is no need to match your menstrual cycle to that of the donor, so only your own schedule is relevant.
When you know which option to choose, we will give you a prescription for all of the medications you need for your entire treatment programme. You can purchase these immediately in our on-site pharmacy. As they do not need to be kept chilled, you can take them back home simply by packing them carefully in your luggage. You will also be given a personal treatment plan by your doctor that describes how to use your medicines. You should ensure that you carry this document in your hand luggage when you pass Customs. Because you now have all of the medication that you need, you will be ready to start your treatment as soon as you confirm that you are happy to accept the donors we have matched you to. This means that you are normally able to start treatment within a few weeks of your Initial Consultation.
However, sometimes we first need to treat a hormonal disorder or other abnormality before you start your embryo donation treatment, and your treatment plan will be personalised accordingly. Unfortunately, occasionally we find that a patient who comes to see us has a medical condition that means she will not be able to have a child even with the help of embryo donation treatment. This is of course very sad, but we prefer to tell such patients this honestly at an early stage, instead of letting them undergo treatment that has no chance of success.
Details of the AVA-Peter Initial Consultation and Treatment schedule
Before booking your Initial Consultation, please fill in our Questionnaire
Our Shared Care Programme
It has recently become possible for some patients to have their initial tests performed in a local clinic under our Shared Care Programme. This means that a specialist at your local fertility clinic liaises with us to gather the results we require, and provides you with the drugs you need. All the data that we ask for is then sent by your local clinic for us to assess in St. Petersburg, and we discuss your care with your local specialist.
If you have a local clinic prepared to support you in this way, you will only need to come to St. Petersburg once: simply for the Embryo Transfer itself.
Details of the AVA-Peter Shared Care Schedule
If you are interested in embryo donation using the Shared Care Programme, please fill in our questionnaire
Interested in embryo donation at AVA-Peter?
Please first fill in our questionnaire This will be assessed by one of our experienced patient coordinators, who will then get in touch with you using your preferred contact method.
If you have any questions, an English-speaking receptionist is available to take your call on 007 812 600 7812 between 07:00-14:00 Central European time (06.00-13.00 UK time). You can also reach us by e-mail at info@clinic.avapeter.com
We are looking forward to hearing from you!
Very kind regards,
Your AVA-Peter team
