Assembling your care team

Embarking on the journey of third-party reproduction involves assembling a dedicated team of professionals who will support you through each stage of the process. Each member of this team plays a critical role in ensuring the medical, legal, and emotional aspects of your journey are handled with expertise and care.

Everyone’s team will look a little different. If you are using an egg donor, your team will be different from intended parents using a surrogate. But in general, these are the professionals you can expect to encounter or seek out on your journey.

Donor Agency

If you plan to use a fresh egg donation cycle, then you may work with a donor agency. And if you choose surrogacy, you will almost certainly work with an agency. The agency as an intermediary between intended parents and egg donors or surrogates. They provide a range of personalized services to facilitate the egg donation or surrogacy process, including matching intended parents and donors or surrogates. Agencies typically offer support throughout the entire IVF process, including coordinating medical appointments, arranging travel for donors, and post-donation follow-ups. Agencies often provide legal support to ensure that all agreements comply with local and international laws.

Egg Bank

If you plan to use frozen eggs, it is likely that you will be working with an egg bank. The egg bank will assist with the matching process by providing profiles for review and arranging to have the frozen eggs shipped to your clinic.

Egg Donor

The egg donor provides the eggs necessary for the IVF process. In a fresh cycle, your clinic will conduct medical and psychological screening to ensure suitability and carry out the retrieval of genetic material. She may have ongoing interactions depending on the arrangement with the intended parents.

Surrogate

The surrogate, sometimes referred to as a gestational carrier, is the woman who carries and delivers a baby for the intended parents. The surrogate has no genetic connection to the child, as the embryo implanted in her uterus is created using the egg and sperm of the intended parents or donors. You can expect to have an ongoing relationship with your surrogate throughout the pregnancy, including accompanying her to doctors visits and her delivery.

Doctors and Laboratory Professionals

Prepare to choose a Reproductive Endocrinologist and Infertility Specialist (REI), who is also an OB-GYN. He or she will be the key member of your care team, providing medical procedures involved in IVF, including egg retrieval, fertilization, and embryo transfer. In contrast, laboratory professionals work behind the scenes, but are essential to the IVF process. They perform IVF procedures, monitor embryo development, and ensure the highest standards of lab practices.

Patient Coordinator or Case Manager

This may be the person with whom you communicate the most during the process. Your case manager acts as a liaison between intended parents and various professionals involved in the IVF process. At some clinics, this may be a third-party coordinator who specifically deals with couples using donor gametes. This person coordinates appointments, manages communication between different team members, and ensures that all logistical aspects are smoothly handled. Many private clinics in Asia have case managers who are on call at any time of the day or night to answer your questions. It is essential that this person speaks your language and is responsive to you.

Lawyer

Your lawyer will ensure that all legal aspects of the egg donation and IVF process are properly handled. He or she drafts and reviews contracts between intended parents and egg donors, ensures compliance with relevant laws, and protects the rights of all parties involved. This is especially crucial for fresh donor cycles, and accordingly, most agencies and clinics will refer you to legal support. It is vital to pick a lawyer in your country of nationality or country of care, or both.

Counselor or Therapist

He or she provides emotional support and counseling to intended parents, as well as to egg donors. He or she may provide therapy to address the grief and loss associated with using donor eggs, prepare intended parents for the emotional aspects of IVF, and support mental well-being throughout the process. Look for counselors who speak your language and understand your ethnic and cultural background.

Friends and Family

Of course, your friends and family play an irreplaceable role in providing support and encouragement throughout the IVF journey. While you may not keep your choice to use donor eggs private, it is crucial to have a few of your closest friends or family members who know that you are trying to conceive and can support and comfort you through the process.