CD1 - The Donor Egg Cycle at CCRM!

Wow! F-I-N-A-L-L-Y, it's arrived.

So, on Sunday I reduce Lupron to 5 units (whew!) and add 1 Vivelle patch and a baby aspirin. Looks like my donor should start her stims late next week.

AND, Dr. Surrey wants to consult with me next week about my using a CMV positive sperm donor. Ugh! I already signed CCRM's consent on this which states "current knowledge of CMV is that there is minimal risk of exposure to myself receiving the donated sperm [of a CMV antibody positive donor]," but I'm sure he's dotting his i's and crossing his t's.

I posted about this a while back but I'll refresh the topic. CMV (cytomeglavirus) is a harmless virus that exists in the larger percentage of Americans (and upwards of 95% in countries like India). For most people, you're infected through casual contact and never even know it. A month or so later, you clear the virus and forever keep the antibodies. However, if you're immune suppressed or a gestating fetus, being infected with CMV can be extremely dangerous - even fatal.

Here's the rub: I'm CMV negative. I'm in the small population who has never been exposed to this. I wish I'd been exposed a couple of years ago so I'd have antibodies and be done with it already! Alas, I wasn't. My sperm donor, however, is CMV positive. Now, don't misunderstand - he was tested when he donated and though he had antibodies of CMV, it was of a former infection. But he was also tested for active virus, which he didn't have. No one is allowed to donate sperm or blood or eggs or anything with active CMV infection.

So, there is virtually no risk to my using sperm from a CMV antibody positive donor. But, because there is some theoretical risk of exposure to CMV (what if the donor's CMV reactivated somehow while he was donating - which is so over-the-top remote...), Dr. Surrey will want to make sure I understand there is a risk of this. Yes, I know. There is also a risk of lightning strike but I still had to drive in the storm home from work last week, you know?

Could I avoid the risk down to zero (it's probably .000000589% right now) for the IVF? Yes, I could - by choosing a CMV negative donor. BUT, there aren't that many negative donors and I had a hard enough time finding someone who fit the criteria (smart and with a similar ethnic background), never mind someone who is also CMV negative. And, I could NEVER reduce my CMV risk to zero throughout the pregnancy 'cause - well - 'cause shit happens and people sneeze around you and you never know. I just have to be extra vigilant about hand washing and being tested and hope that whatever has kept me from CMV for 42 years, will hold out another 40 weeks.

And my issue about this has always been the same, which I will raise with Dr. Surrey next week. Many women undergoing IVF are CMV negative with CMV positive spouses. And it means absolutely nothing unless the spouses have active infection and since everyone is tested at time of sperm "donation" (spouses or anonymous donors) for CMV antibody and active viral response, it virtually eliminates the risk.

Additionally, should I get a BFP 5 weeks from now, I will absolutely have myself tested AGAIN for CMV by the 9th week of pregnancy just to make sure I did not contract it at any point in time from now until then. More than that, I just can't do.

Anyway, I'm so friggen excited to cut this evil Lupron dose in half and slap on a Vivelle patch to balance me out, Sunday can't arrive soon enough! :)