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My husband was diagnosed last year with maturation arrest, meaning that his sperm do not develop normally and do not mature. This means that he has a staggeringly low count and even those that are there are of suspect quality. After trying unsuccessfully for three years to get pregnant we finally knew the reason for our heartache. His urologist strongly recomended that we use donor sperm.

We started seeing a fertility specialist last summer who checked me out thoroughly and reviewed my husbands results. Because I am overweight and have thyroid issues he assumed that I also would have an issue producing eggs. After a number of ultrasounds and monitoring me for a few months it was clear that I was making eggs but he didn't give us great odds. He recommended that we use IVF with ICSI for the best chances. As this was absolutely not covered under our insurance we could not afford this option. So we did as my husbands urologist suggested and used a donor insemination. My doctor did not have great hopes of this being successful, making it clear that we needed to be prepared to do at least 12 cycles before looking for other options. He seemed so sure that my weight would harm our chances. I took a loan from my 401K account to cover the expenses and we were on our way. We had the difficult decision of choosing a donor next. We wanted a biracial donor with similar features as my husband. This was difficult as there were comparatively few men of color donating and hardly any biracial donors. We finally found the perfect donor at Fairfax Cryobank and tried to stockpile vials by purchasing ahead and keeping them stored. No such luck. I was able to obtain only one vial, and the waiting list was full for the next release. I had no idea when or if more vials would come available for our donor. It seemed as if this was our only chance.

November 2006 we had our first donor IUI, after preparing with Clomid. [glow=red,2,300]TEXT[/glow] My doctor was so excited that he called us at home on a weekend to congratulate us. This is our first and likely only child and we couldn't be happier. I wish you all luck, and send out my support.

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Congrats, Pamela!

JBA - as far as what you can do to improve sperm count/motility/morphology, our doctor recommended "Fertility Blend" for my low-sperm, low-morph, low-motility husband. We were shocked at the price ($28.95 for 1 month supply at Rite Aid), but said "What the heck" and tried it. Apparently (it doesn't state this) but it takes at least 2 months to do anything, and with each successive month the health rise in sperm is more dramatic. (I researched all the ingredients online after purchase.) So, after one month we went in for another sperm test and nothing. Two months later, on our second IVF, DH's sperm count/morph/motility levels were all in the "normal" range, when he was at first close to "really really bad" range!! He also quit alcohol altogether and lost a tad bit of weight... AND (most importantly) didn't get stressed about stuff. We worked and worked at that... whenever he'd get worked up about something, I'd give him a massage and we'd talk about the "pros" of whatever is going on. I could see the effects on his happiness zoom upward.

Anyway, hope that helps!

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Pamela, what a wonderful success story!!!!

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