On Wednesday 29 August, we had our first appointment at the hospital to start our surrogacy journey. We were both so nervous as we had so many questions and didn't know what to expect. We signed in, I had my height and weight done and then we were shown into a room where we met the main man that deals with the process. He was lovely and straight to the point. He had my referral notes from Harefield that said why we were there and he went through medical information with us both. He straight away told us that he would be happy to help us!
He told us that there are 2 parts that need to be paid for: the first part was the expensive bit paying for the hospital to create the embryos which would be £7000-8000, and the second part would be paying for the embryos to be transferred into the surrogate which is around £2000. He is applying for funding for us for the first process but the second process is not funded so we will have to try and pay for that ourselves. We will find the money no matter what!
He said the process will take as long as we need it to and everything will be done when we are ready. The embryos, once fertilised, can be frozen until we are ready to use them. He also added that we will be given a counsellor who will help us with all the legal side of things as there are things that need to be drawn up and signed throughout the process between us, the hospital and the surrogate. He gave us 3 forms which involved 3 different tests and procedures that we needed to do before the next appointment - 2 of them were done straight away. The first was a blood test for me and from this, they can find out how many eggs I have. I showed them my best vein as I hardly have any due to the years of blood tests, lines, etc... and this was taken with no problems.
The next part was Josh's 'donation'. To produce his semen, the form said you had to not have any sexual activity for 2-7 days (no longer) and make sure everything was clean. It was a Monday-Friday walk-in clinic so I said why don't we go to the department straight away to save him coming back. He was given his pot and taken to a room. Without going into too much detail, he finished and came out and laughed all the way home! It was very clinical and the DVD provided was very out of date but at least thats done with.
The last thing was for me to do was for me to book in an ultrasound of my uterus. This will give a clear picture of where my uterus and eggs are and if the egg retrieval will be straight forward or more invasive. Since coming home, I have called and booked the appointment for middle of October as I am off work for half-term.
We have received our letter through from the hospital this morning with our next appointment which is Monday 29 October. That was perfect as it fell on one of Josh's days off and I will still be off on half-term. Result! At this appointment, we should find out if we have been given the funding, will get the results of mine and Josh's tests and see what the next stages are.
Exciting but nervous and hoping it all goes as smooth as it can. Until the next appointment.....
He said the process will take as long as we need it to and everything will be done when we are ready. The embryos, once fertilised, can be frozen until we are ready to use them. He also added that we will be given a counsellor who will help us with all the legal side of things as there are things that need to be drawn up and signed throughout the process between us, the hospital and the surrogate. He gave us 3 forms which involved 3 different tests and procedures that we needed to do before the next appointment - 2 of them were done straight away. The first was a blood test for me and from this, they can find out how many eggs I have. I showed them my best vein as I hardly have any due to the years of blood tests, lines, etc... and this was taken with no problems.
The next part was Josh's 'donation'. To produce his semen, the form said you had to not have any sexual activity for 2-7 days (no longer) and make sure everything was clean. It was a Monday-Friday walk-in clinic so I said why don't we go to the department straight away to save him coming back. He was given his pot and taken to a room. Without going into too much detail, he finished and came out and laughed all the way home! It was very clinical and the DVD provided was very out of date but at least thats done with.
The last thing was for me to do was for me to book in an ultrasound of my uterus. This will give a clear picture of where my uterus and eggs are and if the egg retrieval will be straight forward or more invasive. Since coming home, I have called and booked the appointment for middle of October as I am off work for half-term.
We have received our letter through from the hospital this morning with our next appointment which is Monday 29 October. That was perfect as it fell on one of Josh's days off and I will still be off on half-term. Result! At this appointment, we should find out if we have been given the funding, will get the results of mine and Josh's tests and see what the next stages are.
Exciting but nervous and hoping it all goes as smooth as it can. Until the next appointment.....
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