Pak Rocks!

Bob and I met with our doctor, Dr. Pak Chung, at Cornell. We hashed out all of the pros and cons of our situation with him and still don't really have our decision made.

Dr. Chung feels that another round of IVF should be the next step for us. Considering that it would be our seventh cycle, he understands that there is high amount of stress and emotion to cycling again. Medically speaking, he stresses, another round is what he recommends. Financially, emotionally...well, that's all to be considered as well.

I keep saying that a pregnancy from IVF is highly unlikely, not to mention a healthy, successful pregnancy. Dr. Chung seems to think the odds aren't quite so bad. I am fearful of spending too much money on IVF and limiting our further options (surrogacy or adoption). Dr. Chung pointed us to some different ways of reducing the cost of IVF for our specific situation.

We discussed India with him and he has offered to do as much research as possible on Rotunda for us. He was surprised to hear about India as an option. I was surprised that it was new to him. He expressed concerns for my care throughout the cycle and wants to make sure that an IVF cycle in India would be safe for us. He said that he sees many couples in our situation who become desperate and take risks at overseas clinics that could lead to disaster and gave a specific example of a procedure and clinic in Mexico. He did not say that going to India was a bad idea; he simply wants to help assure us of a good decision, in as much as he can.

Shipping/taking embryos to India is simply not possible. He said that the paperwork and effort expended in taking embryos just to the next state is incredible; out of the country would surely prove to be impossible. Also, he didn't think the embryos would survive that long.

So, right now Bob and I are in limbo. We have agreed between us that Bob will take care of finagling the financial burden of another round of IVF. (Did you know there are grants available through a few states? http://www.acog.org/acog_districts/dist_notice.cfm?recno=1&bulletin=1767) If Bob can make it work, I will do one more round. If he can't, we will continue our path to India. Hopefully, Dr. Chung is able to give us a green light on the facilities/doctors at Rotunda.

You know, Dr. Chung is the third RE I have had. I found it truly amazing how willing he is to help us, not just at Cornell, but in any choice we make. I did four cycles with other clinics and other doctors. I wish I had gone straight to Cornell.

The Roller Coaster: IVF or India?

Last week we started the ball rolling on finding a surrogate in India. Then we asked Dr. Kaushal to hold off on advertising for a surrogate until this week.

See, a few hours after wiring the money to India, my doctor here at Cornell called and wanted to discuss another round of IVF. My heart was not in this discussion (remember, we've done six rounds already), but in the interest of making a solid, well-informed decision, Bob and I are going to consult with him tomorrow.

We'd also like to hear what the doctor will think of the option to pursue surrogacy in India. We are also curious to see if we could do a round at Cornell, freeze any healthy embryos and ship (or take) them to India for transfer to a surrogate. Should be an interesting meeting.

When we emailed Dr. Kaushal and asked to hold off advertising for a surrogate for a week, we also asked about the complexity of sending frozen embryos over to her. She said it was possible, that Fedex could handle it, but there are risks involved in moving the embryos through customs.

As my research continues, I also emailed the US Embassy in Mumbai on Thursday asking what the process would be for taking an infant out of India in the case of the baby being the genetic child of US Citizens. They sent me back a lovely email with several links. I will post those links at the bottom of this post, but essentially they said that the baby would be issued a birth certificate showing a US citizen's birth abroad and it would be a hellish day getting all the paperwork done at the embassy (both parents and baby must be present--they suggest bringing a nanny). The baby's passport for travel would be issued after 15 working days. You can apply for an emergency passport, but I am not sure of what quantifies an "emergency." See, I think two blonds with absolutely no parenting experience in a Mumbai hotel room with an infant for 3 weeks constitutes an emergency, but who knows if the US Government will agree...

http://mumbai.usconsulate.gov/children_with_no_claim.html
http://mumbai.usconsulate.gov/transmission_requirements_.html
http://mumbai.usconsulate.gov/birth_abroad.html.

Our Introduction

My husband, Bob, and I have been married for four years. We starting trying to have a baby three and a half years ago.

We bought a nice, roomy townhouse in suburbia and bought the required SUV, and we started trying. All of our friends had or were having children, so we assumed it would just be a matter of time. We were so naive!

I was diagnosed with a unicoruate uterus. That essentially means I have half a uterus and would have a difficult time carrying baby to term. Miscarriage is common with this genetic anomoly. It also decreases the chance of implantation by about half of the normal female. So, four pregnancy losses and six failed IVF treatments later, we found ourselves at a crossroad. What to do now?

We decided to go to India and use a surrogate. We had done much research on our options and were liking the idea more and more of going to India. Lately, there seems to be more media coverage on the process. There was an article in Marie Clare and then Oprah did a segment in which Lisa Ling went to India and followed an American couple on their journey. This clinched the decision for us.

I cannot seem to find any information from anyone in the U.S. who has done a surrogacy in India, so I decided to start this blog. I want to share our journey with others who are suffering from infertility and looking at available options. Hopefully, this story will have a happy ending.

Stay tuned for more updates!