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The Beauty of Conceiving with Donor Eggs

Conceiving with donor eggs is “the best decision” Jayna and Scott have ever made

Conceiving with donor eggs is “the best decision” Jayna and Scott have ever made
Photo by Sana Ahmed Photography

While more people are opening up about using in vitro fertilization (IVF) to have a baby, egg donation still isn’t something a lot of people talk about. Jayna and Scott want to change that. “We want to share our story so that we can raise awareness for other intended parents in our position,” Jayna says.

The couple tried to get pregnant on their own before reaching out for help

Conceiving with donor eggs is “the best decision” Jayna and Scott have ever made
Photo by Sana Ahmed Photography

When Jayna and Scott got married, they knew that they wanted to have children right away. “When we weren’t pregnant after about six months of trying, I assumed it was because I was traveling for work quite a bit, and we weren’t always able to work with my cycle,” Jayna says. “We ended up trying for about a year before seeing a fertility doctor.”

The first fertility doctor that Jayna saw did some basic testing, including bloodwork and an HSG. Jayna discovered she had hypothyroidism and immediately started treating this condition. A few months later, she also started seeing a new OBGYN. He reviewed the testing from Jayna’s first fertility doctor before he performed an ultrasound. The results made him suspect that she had endometriosis. However, before suggesting laparoscopic surgery, he recommended that Jayna and her husband try three rounds of medicated intrauterine insemination (IUI).

Conceiving with donor eggs is “the best decision” Jayna and Scott have ever made
Photo by Sana Ahmed Photography

When the IUI cycles were unsuccessful, Jayna ended up having laparoscopic endometriosis surgery. During the surgery, her OBGYN discovered several areas of endometriosis. “It was significant, which was really surprising to me because the only endometriosis symptom I had was infertility.”

With the surgery completed, Jayna did a few more rounds of IUI before her doctor recommended seeing a fertility doctor. She knew exactly which doctor she wanted to see. “We had already decided that we wanted to see Dr. Vaughn, as we knew several couples that had great experiences.”

Dr. Vaughn guided Jayna and Scott through the next steps of their fertility journey

Conceiving with donor eggs is “the best decision” Jayna and Scott have ever made
Photo by Sana Ahmed Photography

From the first appointment, Dr. Thomas Vaughn helped Jayna feel at ease. “Dr. Vaughn was great, he talked to me about the possible reasons I wasn’t getting pregnant and about our options. From day one, we felt like he was just as invested in our success as we were.”

After reviewing the couple’s family-building goals and Jayna and Scott’s testing, he recommended that they try in vitro fertilization (IVF). Sadly, the IVF cycle using Jayna’s eggs and Scott’s sperm only resulted in one embryo, which testing showed was abnormal.

Conceiving with donor eggs is “the best decision” Jayna and Scott have ever made
Photo by Sana Ahmed Photography

“We were really disappointed, I had always thought of IVF as our silver bullet when it came to getting pregnant, so I was surprised when we didn’t have healthy embryos to transfer. Dr. Vaughn didn’t give up on us though,” Jayna recalls. “At this point, he talked to us about the option of using donor eggs to conceive.”

“We knew quite a bit about third party reproduction using surrogacy, but we didn’t know anyone who had conceived using donor eggs. We started doing a lot of research and discovered that using donor eggs was actually much more common than we thought.” This gave Jayna and Scott a lot to think about, including what they really wanted from their fertility journey.

“We never felt like our child had to share our genetics. We just wanted to be parents. Because IVF cycles using donor eggs have high success rates, we decided it was our best chance to have a baby,” Jayna explains. “It was the best decision we have ever made.”

IVF with donor eggs allowed the couple to bring home a healthy baby girl

Conceiving with donor eggs is “the best decision” Jayna and Scott have ever made
Photo by Sana Ahmed Photography

Once Jayna and Scott decided to move forward with IVF using donor eggs, the process started moving right along. Within a few weeks, Dr. Vaughn transferred the first embryo. While that first transfer did not result in a pregnancy, the second embryo transfer was a success. Nine months later, the proud parents welcomed their beautiful daughter Haley into the world.

Jayna has some advice for intended parents considering using donor eggs

If you feel like you’re “at a crossroad” when it comes to using donor eggs, Jayna and Scott want you to know that they understand what it feels like.

Conceiving with donor eggs is “the best decision” Jayna and Scott have ever made
Photo by Sana Ahmed Photography

“By the time you’re thinking about using donor eggs, you’ve been through so much. Taking that next step to pursue egg donation can be emotional and hard, but it gives you another option to experience pregnancy and parenthood. That’s why we moved forward with IVF and donor eggs, and we’re so glad that we did.”

If you’re still trying to find a fertility clinic to help you conceive, Jayna and Scott recommend visiting Texas Fertility Center. “They’re truly pioneers in fertility, and you get great personalized care. We are excited about returning to TFC to continue to grow our family.”

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