[Patient Testimonial] The Most Important Choice in My Life
9/18/2018 06:45:00 PM
I am a woman who has gotten primary ovarian insufficiency, so I stopped having a menstrual cycle since I was in high school. I have to take pills to make my menstrual cycle regular. Thus, I started my infertility treatment immediately after I got married. However, I did not get any oocyte that could be used for my IVF treatment after several times doing the OPU (Oocyte pick-up) surgeries. After all of these treatments, I decided to do IVA (In Vitro Follicle Activation) test to know how many oocytes that I still have. The final test result is that I do not have any oocyte or follicle in my ovarian, and it also means that I don’t have any opportunity to use my own egg having a baby. Therefore, using an oocytes bank is my new hope to have a baby.
At first, we did some research online. My husband and I only found information on oocytes bank in the U.S., but price of these treatments were way too high than we originally expected. In the same time, my original clinic in Japan recommended us to go fertility center in Taiwan. After couple days discussion, my husband and me realize that we could do the oocyte bank in Taiwan, and the price of oocyte bank in Taiwan is more affordable than if we go to the U.S.. Also, the distance from Japan to Taiwan is much closer than from Japan to The U.S.. My original clinic in Japan introduced us to two fertility centers in Taiwan. At First, my husband and I had hard time to make a choice for these two fertility centers in Taiwan, so we e-mailed both of them in the same time. These two fertility centers were replied our question kindly and quickly. Eventually, we choose Stork Fertility Center because most Taiwanese to go here to do IVF or do oocyte bank. Even though another fertility center is more famous in Japan and we can find a lot of information online, we still believe that only local people know these fertility centers better than foreigners like us who from Japan.
In the beginning of September, we went to Stork fertility center first time. We took bus from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to High Speed Railway Taoyuan station for 15 minis, and we spend another 10 minis for taking High Speed Railway from Taoyuan to Hsinchu. The last step is that Taking a Taxi from High Speed Railway Hsinchu station to Stork fertility center for 15 minis. When we arrived stork fertility center, and we saw a giant and elegant building in front of our face. If people do not know this building is a fertility center, people may think this building is an art museum. This how amazing that building is. Also, their staffs open the door for you, when you into lobby. I never see any clinic has this kind of service which is like you check in to a hotel.
Finally, we saw the person who was kept sending email with me is our Japanese consulter, Celine. She is a woman who looks very kind and outstanding. She helped us to figure out how to arrange some instruments of law for applying to the oocyte bank, and went to bank to exchange money. The most important thing is that stork fertility center will pay all of the taxi fees for their customers. Also, we have to exchange a large amount of money. It really makes feel safer and sweet that Celine can go to the bank with us. Especially, she found a bank which had a better exchange rate for Japanese to Taiwan currency. When we finished all of paper work for some instruments of law, we still had couple hours waiting for our first visit with deputy superintendentsur. Thus, Celine asked us if we want to have a dinner first, then she print out a map to us, and recommend us a famous local restaurant. Although this restaurant can’t speak Japanese, it still was a great experience to have such tasty food and experience Taiwanese culture.
The deputy superintendent in Stork fertility center can’t speak Japanese, but the first visit with deputy superintendent still was great because Japanese consulter will help translate very thing what deputy superintendent said to us. The Deputy superintendent patiently answer our questions and told to my husband and I that “ I think you will have your baby this year”. This sentence really cheers me up a lot, and helps me use a positive attitude to face the unknown future. Moreover, I noticed that the equipment are better and newer than Japan clinic during the tests. After these tests, we told our conditions to Japanese consulter because under reproductive law in Taiwan, oocyte receiver can’t know how oocyte donor look or any information of this oocyte donor.
When we got all of paper work and tests done, and there were a lot of Taiwanese patients in the waiting area. I recognized that no matter what country you go, there are always a lot of people who have infertility problems. Also, we make sure that the Stork fertility center is very famous and popular in Taiwan. Before we left Stork fertility center, my husband and I went to visit their room which is for foreigners. It is very clean and cozy, just like a deluxe hotel. It’s price for one night also a little bit high as well. Stork fertility center also help us to find a taxi to go Hsinchu train station, and we do not have to pay any fee for this ride.
After we back to Japan one month later, we received a message that they found a oocyte donor from Stork fertility center. However, this donor is not too fit with our expectation, so we decided do a one more round for pair up a new donor. Two weeks later, they found another donor for us, and my husband and I agreed with this donor. Therefore, this all pair process only took around one and half month. This is much faster than I thought. In the end of November, oocyte donor complete OPU (Oocyte pick-up) surgery. During this time, Celine kept updating every single detail of that oocyte bank process. Sometimes, I asked something is not that relate to this oocyte bank, Celine still answered my question very soon and accurate.
The Day Came that I do BT(Blastocyst Transfer). The Deputy Superintendent showed me the photo of that blastocyst before we start to do that surgery,and He told me that the process of thaw blastocyst is good. A minute later, Deputy Superintendent said this BT(Blastocyst Transfer) is going very well, and I still can’t believe that how soon that deputy Deputy Superintendent complete this surgery. Then they moved me to a quiet room for recover, and the staff also prepare a meal as my lunch. It really makes me feel warm and sweet. Two later, I did the blood test in Japan clinic told me that you are pregnant. From the first visit to I'm pregnant, my husband and me only spend four months. I would never believe everything will be that easy to happen.
After 10 months and 10 days, I have my own child, and my family. Even though I took a lot of convoluted path before I want to Stork fertility center, I hug my lovely daughter now. Before I see my daughter, I was worried about my daughter is not look like me. If she is not look like me, do I still love her without any question? However, I see my daughter at first sight. I know these worries are not necessary. I certainly sure I will love her, my daughter forever. Thanks so much to Stork Fertility center for bringing this amazing happiness to me, and also thanks Celine who is our Japanese consulter during this time. Choosing Stork fertility center is the most important choice in my life, and it is the most correct one as well.
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Female Premature ovarian failure
9/03/2018 01:30:00 AM
Modern people
have the phenomenon of late marriages and late child-birth. For a woman, the
age is the biggest factor affecting fertility. The older women are, the poorer
oocytes quality they have. Not only the fertilization rate, blastocyst
implantation rate, pregnancy rate, but also even if they are pregnant, their
abortion rate, fetal chromosomal abnormality rate, risk of delivery, are higher
than younger women. Through medical tests and
examinations, we can know our ovarian function in advance, and let women who
are on the journey of having babies to know their own natural conception rate.
Is
there any way to know if our ovary is aging and how do we know if our ovarian
function is aging?
There are several ways of testing and
examining in medicine science that can be predicted in advance.
Below are some ways of evaluating the
ovarian function：
Follicle-Stimulating Hormone, FSH
FSH is a
gonadotropin, a glycoprotein polypeptide hormone. It is synthesized and
secreted by the gonadotropic cells of the anterior pituitary gland, and
regulates the development, growth, pubertal maturation, and reproductive
processes of the body.
Reference
1. Having the blood test on the first day to third day of our period, and it can be used as an indicator to evaluate the "ovarian reserve".
2. This indicator has great
variability, and it is recommended to continuously evaluate 2~3 cycles for
reference.
3.
The reference of values is reduced
for who have the ovarian surgery or endometriosis .
However, 75% of women's ovarian reserve has declined, and this hormone is still within the normal range.
Once it is detected that this hormone has risen, it is usually too late.
Anti-Mullerian Hormone, AMH
AMH is expressed by granulosa cells of the ovary during the reproductive years. It declines with age and oocytes. Due to its high sensitivity, stability and low volatility, it has become the most important indicator for assessing the ovarian reserve.
Reference
1. As the age increases or ovarian reserve begins to decline, AMH will become lower and lower.
2. It is low volatility that we can have
the blood test in any day.
3. Combining with FSH
and AFC allows, it's more accurate for assessing the ovarian reserve.
4. On average, AMH has declined to 50% when women aged
from 30 to 37. However, FSH has only slightly increased. (AMH sensitivity is
better than FSH)
5. AMH is associated with the number of retrieval
oocytes, fertilization rate, blastocyst quality, pregnancy rate, and abortion
rate when doing In Vitro Fertilization (IVF).
Inhibin B,
Inhibin B is a sensitive marker of ovarian follicle
development and produced by granulosa cells in the ovary, is a heterodimeric
glycoprotein suppressing synthesis and secretion of the follicle stimulating
hormone (FSH). If the inhibin B on the third day of the period is less than 45
(pg/ml), it means that the ovary may not well respond to ovulation drugs. This
hormone has great variability in the period, and it is recommended to evaluate
on the second day to the third day of menstruation.
Antral
Follicle Counts, AFC
At birth, a female fetus has 1 to 2 million immature
eggs called oocytes inside her ovaries, which are all the eggs she will ever
produce. By the time a girl enters puberty, about 200,000 of these eggs remain.
Approximately 300 to 400 of the remaining eggs will be ovulated during a
woman's reproductive lifetime.There is quantitative eggs are
screened out in every cycle, but when it is ovulating, only one egg will win,
and the other eggs will automatically apoptosis. Therefore, when the menstrual cycle comes, the number
of follicles in the ovary can be checked by the transvaginal ultrasound. If the
total amount of follicles on both sides is less than 4, it means that the
amount of ovarian reserve is not much, which can be clinically correlates with AMH.
However, don't just trust the clinical values, because these indicators or the results of the test only present the status of the current ovarian function, rather than predicting the outcome of pregnancy. As long as we grasp the prime time of pregnancy and do not give up easily, I believe that the happiness in the future will not be too far away.
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