It's been a while!

I know, I know. I'm a terrible person because it's been almost a month since the last post, but there is a reason -- I haven't started the process full-on yet. I was getting nervous since I had gotten accepted, and then there were virtual crickets: no emails, no calls... nothing. I thought I had maybe missed something, so I sent the agency a message, y'know the kind, "Hey, sooo...ummm... what's up? Long time, no talk to!"

As it turns out, Holly and her partner just haven't cemented when the next time they'll be in Cleveland is, so nothing was missed on my part, and we are looking to still go forward. However, I did have a great conversation with Holly, and she explained EVERYTHING to me, and in so much detail. Frankly, I'm more excited now than I was initially. The whole process is interesting, and while the commitment is no joke, it's not a terribly difficult process.

Essentially, after my psych eval, which is about 2 hours, we move from there. Once the physical part of the process begins, it'll take about 3 weeks, in which time I will have something like 8-10 doctor's appointments. We start with a routine physical, pelvic exam, and some blood work. This is, of course, to get all my vitals, check for any diseases, STIs or other maladies, and all the knitty gritty about my body. From there, doctors determine how much of the stimulating hormone I'll be on in order to get my follicles to mature enough for extraction. Once the dosage is determined, I'll be sent enough hormone to give myself a daily injection for about 2.5 weeks, during which time I'll be going for short appointments, just to see how things are maturing in there via ultrasound. Then, roughly 36 hours before extraction, I'm going to take a final shot -- a "trigger" shot -- to make my body ovulate all of the follicles I have been maturing over those weeks.

On the big day, I go in and am given a sedative and painkiller. The whole procedure takes about 25 minutes -- they put me to sleep, and with a syringe that has a camera on it, they go into each ovary through my vaginal walls and aspirate (remove) the ova. I come to, go home, and there you have it!

Now, as with any medical procedure, there is a risk, but the science has advanced so much that fewer than 5% of donors have any adverse effects. Holly actually went into quite a bit of detail about each clinic's ways of doing the hormone regimen, and how those methods have affected their donors, but I won't bore you with that here. I will say though, that I am super happy to be a part of this. Right now I am waiting to hear when I will meet Holly and her partner in person so we can talk and also schedule the beginning parts of this process. In the meantime, I have a profile on the site where families go to search for donors! I supplied about 15 photos, since families LOVE photos, and I'm just patiently waiting for a match. :-) Once things speed up, I'm sure there will be more, so stay tuned!!!

Well, that was a bit... Unexpected...

Well, the response to my announcement has been swift and surprisingly positive. I cannot even describe how wonderful it is to have so much support.

I'm still waiting to hear back from the agency so that we can set a date for the interview, so that's exciting for sure! I was thinking today about the huge commitment that this is, and I can't wait to see how it plays out. There will be doctor's appointments, hormone injections and everything else. It will most definitely be something that I have never done before, and I think that is part of the draw. At the same time, it's sinking in that I am on the verge of literally providing life to someone and giving a piece of myself to help someone out there make their family complete.

I have continued doing more research and finding out more information. I was even (kind of) shocked to find so many other blogs about women also chronicling their experiences. My hope is that I can be a resource to someone who has considering being - or receiving from - an egg donor. I want whatever my experience is to educate, encourage and enlighten others, whether those experiences are good or bad.

My goal with this blog is to be as honest, transparent and detailed as I can. I want people to ask questions, ask everything! I want to learn, grow, and hopefully inspire. I have always been an open book, and this is no time to stop. Don't be shy about anything you want to know about me and my decision - I'm not!

"So... do they take a dozen?"

I remember growing up thinking, "I want three kids. I want two of my own, and I want to adopt one." Ask my mom -- as far back as any of us can remember, adoption was always a part of my plans. When I was younger, I wanted to adopt because it just felt like the right thing to do, because all people are deserving of love, support and affection. I grew up in a religious home, my grandpa was a deacon in church: our family prayed together, participated in church, all that good stuff. I will always remember when grandpa would pray, no matter what for, he would always say somewhere in there, "Lord, bless me so that I may be a blessing to someone else." That giving spirit is the same one my mom and dad instilled in me, and it's something that I have always taken seriously, even as a little girl.

These days, I am a lot less religious, but I am most certainly more spiritually aware, and I try to show that through how I treat my fellow (wo)man. My grandfather's words stick with me, and I try my best to be that blessing to someone else, whether that means buying a meal, donating my clothes or giving my time to someone who needs it.

I have thought about egg donation for a long time. Years, actually. I just didn't tell anyone. It wasn't some deep, dark secret or anything; it was just something that I never had occasion to share. But that occasion arose not too long ago when I went to one of my favorite ladyblogs, Jezebel. There was a post about predatory and unethical egg donation companies. These companies failed to accurately warn potential donors about the risk of such procedures, chose donors based on physical traits, and myriad other horrendous practices. This attracted my attention, because, well, I want to donate. I posted a response to the article, saying that donation was something I had been considering and asking for advice from someone who had done it about where to begin my agency search. Much to my surprise, I got a quick response from Katie who had just completed her first donation cycle in May. She recommended two agencies that provide services to the area, and so I started there.

I was immediately excited and did the pre-screening applications for both companies after looking at their sites, reading reviews about them, and just doing some plain old snooping. The reactions I got from friends and family were pretty interesting. My mom says she totally sees me doing something like this; my sister just shrugged and took another drag of her cigarette; my dad actually seemed a bit interested in the idea and facetiously asked, "So... do they take, like, a dozen?". Kat and Kelly are proud of me and think it's a compassionate thing that I'm doing. My boyfriend, ever the planner, was very supportive of the decision, even though he has his reservations.

When I told Enick, he initially asked me if money was that important. I'd be lying if I said that the financial benefit wasn't a factor, because I do stand to make a good amount of money. But anyone who knows me knows that it is totally true that I want, more than anything, to help someone else. So if not the money, why am I donating my ova? Because I am a young, healthy woman who takes care of her body and has no known illness or reproductive issues. I eat well, I try to run 3-4 times a week, but as I have gotten older, I have come to realize that I have no desire to have biological children. There are enough children on the planet without me making any of my own, and they deserve the type of familial love that I was fortunate enough to receive. That is my personal motivation to adopt. BUT, there are those who would love nothing more than to make a child of their own, and in light of that, why not donate to others what I have no plans on using? The procedure will not inhibit my own productive capabilities, so if I ever change my mind, I can still make my own little Enicks and Kryssis.

The first company I applied to rejected me, and I think I know why. But, today, after anxiously waiting through the end of last week, the second company emailed and said that they want to move forward in this process with me. I immediately called my mom to tell her; she said she was happy for me; I said that I'm just happy that I am about to help someone I don't know complete their family.

And so this will be my record of what I hope will be an eye-opening, introspective and enlightening experience. I'm excited at what lies ahead, and the amazing people I am sure to meet. I hope you'll all join me for the ride.

And to answer my dad's question: yes, typically in an egg retrieval procedure, between 12 and 15 ova are extracted -- they do take a dozen. (^_^)