“Once a member, always a member”
By: Katie Warner, Fellow Warrior
I wanted to share a bit of our journey so other warriors in a similar situation might find hope! I know connecting with women through the IVF community on Instagram has truly helped me and I hope sharing our story does the same for others.
Our basic stats - my husband and I have been TTC for 3 years, both 33 at the time of our 3 egg retrievals, my AMH is 7.6 and we have male factor infertility (low count and low motility). IVF was recommended from the beginning (versus trying IUI first) because of our MFI issues.
Our first egg retrieval yielded 24 eggs, 15 fertilized via ICSI with a regular sample collection and 3 made it to biopsy/freeze. Unfortunately, PGT-A testing resulted in no genetically viable embryos. We decided to take the next 3 months to focus on our overall lifestyle and nutrition/vitamins and add in acupuncture for stress reduction. We eliminated gluten, dairy, soy, alcohol, caffeine and switched to non-toxic/EWG-certified household products/soaps/cleaners to help promote a healthier life.
Our second round yielded 30 eggs, 12 fertilized by sperm collected from TESE surgery (sperm removed from testicle) and again, yielded no genetically viable embryos after PGT-A testing. We were devastated. After the results came back, CCRM Minneapolis told us our only option was to use donor sperm and they wanted us to begin a third round immediately... but we had other plans!
We refused to believe donor sperm was our only option because my husband had almost 2M sperm to work with and deep down, we felt that we hadn't exhausted all of our options. We had already seen the top urologists in the Midwest, had varicocele surgery and TESE surgery and the doctors in our area had no additional guidance or recommendation. That's when we sought out Dr. Paul Turek of the Turek Clinic in San Francisco. He is acclaimed to be one of the top male urologists in the country and has successfully helped patients from all over the world.
Dr. Turek was on the team that invented the ZyMot Chip Test in 2019. It's cutting edge technology that is only offered at certain clinics because it is so new (hence our traveling to San Francisco for our third round of IVF). ZyMot is a sperm sorting tool that puts the sperm through an "obstacle course" to determine the strongest swimmers and uncovers the highest quality sperm which is then used for fertilization. We thought that just maybe, with this technology, we could have a chance!
We switched clinics and doctors altogether and had a wonderful experience working with Pacific Fertility Center and Dr. Turek in San Francisco. Our third egg retrieval yielded 24 eggs, 16 fertilized by ZyMot-sorted sperm, resulting in one day 5 hatching blastocyst which was used for a fresh transfer. Our one embryo successfully implanted and I'm currently 27 weeks pregnant with our miracle girl! We are beyond grateful to PFC for showing us that when faith and science intersect, miracles happen.
If you are struggling with your own fertility journey, please know that we are walking alongside you, lifting you up in hope and encouragement. Never be afraid to advocate for yourself and remember that hope is the only thing greater than fear. I am always available via DM at @ivf.infertility.club because IVF is truly the worst club with the best members and once a member, always a member. My heart is with you, I'm rooting for you and I love you!