Entry #6: The Good, The Bad and The Journey

The Good

In the last week, I spoke with the Wales Fertility Institute (WFI). They were very helpful and able to provide me with plenty of information to consider going forward. For the good news, The WFI, an NHS facility in Cardiff and Neath, South Wales, offer to pay for 2 full cycles, including all treatments ranging from egg collection from an egg donor, embryo creation/IVF, transfer to a surrogate (even if different from the donor) and any medications needed throughout. This would be a huge financial saving.

However…

The Bad (...ish)

Whilst not an issue at this point in time, before treatment could begin, I would need to have an egg donor and surrogate all ready to go. I asked the question of whether I could have embryos created privately and then use these as part of the NHS treatment, and in-turn saving the NHS a substantial amount of money. Unfortunately, it seems the rules in Wales do not permit the use of privately created embryos to be used by the NHS. The WFI does not have an egg bank and so the only way to create embryos with their service would be from a known donor.

They informed me that the WFI had never had a gay couple use their service before and stated that they would be keen to have me as a patient as they had never had a single man use their services before either. I did wonder whether this was due to the fact that a lot of gay couples and single IPs don’t usually have known egg donors and surrogates “at the ready”, at the same time, and therefore they might opt to take the private route to create embryos. In the same vein, heterosexual couples may normally use their own eggs to create embryos? I don’t know the answer but seems plausible. Answers on a postcard please! (or maybe leave a comment and save the postage.)

The Journey (Continues!)

So, going forward, I may be fortunate enough to find both an egg donor and surrogate to help me on my journey. If so, the WFI could be a realistic option. Alternatively, I could press ahead and create embryos using a private clinic.

Finally, I recently received a confirmation e-mail from Surrogacy UK to say they had received and accepted my application, supporting documentation, and administration fee. Due to the current situation (COVID-19) they anticipate the waiting time to be 11-12 months before full membership will be granted. As previously stated, this works out quite well considering I probably need to get a range of different things organised first, for example, finances, semen analysis, and Embryo creation.

For now, the journey continues…

Until next time, keeping the Dad dream alive!

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