Posts Tagged ‘Southern California egg donor agency’

Bonding

Wednesday, May 26th, 2010

Below is our final topic in Brenda Fahn-Hardt’s series of discussions for Intended Parents.   Thank you, Brenda, for all of your contributions over the past few weeks!  

Will I Feel Bonded to My Child?

One fear that intended parents sometimes bring up is that they may not feel as connected or bonded to their child because they used an egg donor.  I don’t think I have encountered any cases that substantiate this fear, but of course it is a valid concern.  I tell intended parents that they may be more prepared to handle their child than parents who have biological children.  Biological parents many times assume that they will understand their iStock 000002911524XSmall1 300x199 Bondingchild, yet each child is unique and may or many not resemble their biological parents either.  The key to parenting is to be attuned to who your child is.  When you enter the world of parenthood, it is a daily challenge to let go of who you think your child “should” be and accept them for who they are.  A daily lesson as a parent is to listen and accept your child for who he/she is.  If you can do that there is no doubt that you will feel connected to your child.

- Brenda Fahn-Hardt M.S., MFT

Beverly Hills Egg Donation Staff Psychotherapist

 

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Update from Valerie and Adam

Wednesday, April 14th, 2010

Last year, we posted this happy news from recent recipients, Valerie and Adam:

I went to FPNC today at 9:00AM for the first ultrasound, and Dr. Abusief showed me on the TV screen that there are two babies growing, each with a nice heartbeat and a “diamond ring” which means something like the cells are growing very well.  When she started, she immediately said that she could see “two sacks,” but I had no idea what that meant.  Then, she spent five minutes showing me the heartbeat in one of the sacks but wasn’t able to find the heartbeat in the other.  This was a touch five minutes, with her saying things like, “this is normal…sometimes it just takes some time for the other one to start growing…”  Then, Dr. Abusief finally was able to see the other heartbeat, and we all saw it really clearly.  It had been over at one side.  Dr. Abusief was very happy with everything she saw and said that the risk now of a “problem” is down to 15%.  We’ll go back in two weeks for another ultrasound, and will know at that point if Baby A and Baby B are boys, girls, or one of each.

I’ve got a print-out of photos of both Baby A and Baby B.

I am so happy!!!  I cried until my makeup ran down my face and I had to get back to work.

Thanks everyone for your help and support, especially to Lisa and Ellie from Beverly Hills Egg Donation for being such great advocates for us.

This has been a long and miserable journey for Adam and me, and hopefully we’ll now have the joy of parenthood.

-Valerie

Well, we are SO pleased to announce that the twins have arrived!  Happy, healthy and oh-so-cute, Hermione and Dashiell were born in September….

Congratulations!!!!

Baby 300x2252 Update from Valerie and Adam
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Why a Backup Donor is a Good Idea

Thursday, February 25th, 2010

You’ve been searching for weeks for your ideal egg donor candidate, taking into consideration physical characteristics, fertility history, family health and educational achievements.  You’ve ranked your favorites, narrowed them down, slept on it and now that you’ve found your perfect match and are ready to book her, you can breathe a big sigh of relief and know that your search is finally behind you.

Right?

iStock 000002307811Small1 200x300 Why a Backup Donor is a Good IdeaNot quite.  Despite the best of intentions, something will go wrong in 25%-30% of all egg donor cycles and most, if not all of these issues cannot be predicted in advance.  Beverly Hills Egg Donation has an extensive in-house screening process and a team of donor reps who work diligently to ensure that our selection of donors is the strongest that it can be, but there is always the potential for surprises once a cycle gets underway.  As is the nature of working with a young woman in her early to mid- twenties, your donor will be having medical testing for a number of things that, if not for this donation, she likely would never have been tested for at her age.  There are also occasionally unforeseen issues that come up in the psychological testing, genetic counseling, or during the legal process.  In fact, this is why we utilize these professionals in the first place – to protect you and ensure that you have the best chance possible at a successful outcome once the medication phase of the cycle begins.  While our personal screening process is an initial review, we employ others to help uncover any health/genetic problems that may otherwise have gone undetected and confirm that your donor is psychologically prepared to donate.

This is why, no matter how perfect your donor may seem, we always recommend that you select a backup option before going forward with your cycle.  We have many repeat donors available (which lessens the possibility that something unexpected will come up to deter or derail your cycle), but even then if something goes wrong and you have a backup choice, our cycle coordinator will be able to help you move seamlessly onto that donor without using any momentum.  There is also no additional agency fee to switch donors; your full fee will be applied to the subsequent cycle.

Ideally, your cycle will be completed smoothly and without a hitch.  However, one of the best things that you can do to make your experience with egg donation as successful as possible is to remain flexible and be prepared for the unexpected – which includes having a backup donor in mind before you book your perfect match.

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Growing

Monday, February 15th, 2010

iStock 000004609436XSmall 300x199 Growing

Check out our freshly updated “Who We Are” page to meet the newest staff members to join the BHED team.  Liz Bader-Natal, Bay Area Coordinator,  provides support to Donors and Intended Parents throughout the duration of the cycle.  Sally Blackford manages our online server and has lent a tremendous hand in keeping day-to-day administrative work running smoothly.  And Diana Ashley, a previous donor herself, works in Donor Outreach to keep each of our donor’s profiles accurate and up-to-date.

With the increases that we’ve seen in every area – from donor applicants to interview, to cycles to manage and medical records to request (and fax, and file, and update…), these ladies have jumped in with both feet and done a stellar job helping our program grow with grace.

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Newest BHED Babies!

Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010

These two GORGEOUS little girls were born, via a gestational surrogate, to clients Dave and John.

david1 300x246 Newest BHED Babies!

Congratulations, guys!!!

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