Amy Klein and her husband, Solomon, want to have a baby but they’re finding out that actually having one isn’t as easy as merely wanting one. The quest for parenthood has taken the couple from the US to Israel and back and has churned up questions that range from methods to costs to success rates to genetics to citizenship to Judaism and to baby bonding. As she ponders her journey to find her “one good egg,” Klein will share the journey in a weekly diary published by the New York Times.
Methods
The trip to Israel was supposed to be a fact-finding mission for in vitro fertilization (IVF) but discussion of success rates between IVF and egg donation led to a detour in the couple’s plan. Klein had gotten pregnant repeatedly and thought it was just a matter of time and perhaps some technological help before that one good egg became a real baby someday. But what if it was somebody else’s one good egg that would get the job done?
Costs
With a $25,000 price tag in mind, egg donation seemed out of the question...until that Israeli doctor mentioned $8,000.
Success Rates
The doctor in Israel said his donor egg success rate was 60 percent to 70 percent. The Society for American Reproductive Technology says it’s 54.9 percent. Solomon compared those with the much smaller success rate of IVF and was pretty much sold on the idea of donation.
Genetics
But he would be. Either way, that one good egg would unite with his genetic material. With a donated egg, none of it would be Klein’s. Could she do that? Is it true that love is the only thing that matters? Really?
Citizenship
The State Department requires a child born abroad to have a biological connection to a US citizen parent in order to be a US citizen itself. If her baby were born of a donated egg, would that mean the government would consider the baby not hers?
Judaism
What would her “ultra-Orthodox family” think of a donated egg? Would the baby be Jewish? Time to consult a rabbi. He introduced her to the Puah Institute, where Orthodox Jewish couples turn for help with infertility. And he suggested it might be too soon to look for a donor. Couldn’t they continue with IVF for a while?
Baby Bonding
It’s too soon to know how, from where, and from whom the one good egg will come into their lives but the determined couple has decided that it’s going to be their baby, no matter how it comes into being.
Source: Klein, Amy. “Would a Pregnancy Through a Donor Egg Feel Like ‘Mine’?” The New York Times / Motherlode. The New York Times Company. Jan 13, 2014. Web. Jan 25, 2014.