The Center for Egg Options Escrow Services

The Center For Egg Options has consistently provided the service of managing known egg donors and gestational carriers; regardless of whether you’re working with The Center For Egg Options.

The Center For Egg Options has a long-established Escrow account and will provide monthly statements for your convenience.

All Checks to be paid are sent from The Center For Egg Options, per your agreement upon setting up the fund.

 

Please contact us for more information.
Email: info@egg411.com
Phone:  (847) 656-8733

We will forever be grateful to The Center For Egg Options!

Dear Center For Egg Options,

Thank you so much for your help these past few months. I just had my 6 week ultrasound and we are pregnant with twins! After 5 years of trying with so many disappointments, we thought this day would never happen.

After our failed cycle with another agency, we were not sure if another donor egg was the right choice for us, but you changed that. We will forever be grateful to you and The Center For Egg Options.

Sincerely,
Recipient

Our Thanks to Nancy!

Dear Nancy,

I wanted to take a moment to thank you for everything you have done to help us. You have made us feel welcome and you have helped us feel that we are not alone. I thank you for that. I also thank you for investing in a career that provides so much hope for those of us who so desperately want to have families. You are a very special person and we have a great deal of respect and admiration for you!

Take care,
Recipient

Sperm Health Concerns? Omega-3s are Vital

A fatty acid found in fish is critical to turning dysfunctional round-headed sperm into strong swimmers with cone-shaped heads packed with egg-opening proteins, a new study finds.

Docosahexnoic acid, also called DHA, is an important omega-3 fatty acid involved in eye and brain development; recent studies in mice have implicated it in male fertility as well.

“DHA is high in the testes and brain, but until this it was not well understood what it does in these tissues,” study researcher Manabu Nakamura, of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, told LiveScience. “About three years ago we created the knockout mouse, which isn’t able to make its own DHA, and we learned that DHA is really essential for sperm formation.” In the new study, Nakamura and colleagues figured out why DHA is so critical to healthy sperm.

Like other omega-3s, DHA is found in fish, especially cold-water oceanic fish, and algae. For fish-fearing wannabe fathers, seafood and algae aren’t our only source of the nutrient; your body can also make DHA from other omega-3 acids.

Sterile swimmers

In their past work, Nakamura and colleagues studied mice without a DHA-synthesizing enzyme, finding that if these mice also didn’t get DHA in their diet, the males were infertile. Fertility returned when their diet was supplemented with the fatty acid. [What Are Omega-3 Fatty Acids?]

Following these findings, in the new study the team looked at how sperm develops in DHA-deficient mice. The researchers determined that DHA plays a role in the formation of a structure called the acrosome on the head of the sperm. The acrosome is a pointy caplike structure containing enzymes that break through the egg’s outer layers, enabling the sperm to fertilize it.

“The acrosome on top of this cone head is gigantic, it is a large sack containing lots of enzymes,” Nakamura said. “When thesperm meets the egg, the acrosome bursts and it releases enzymes and helps the sperm penetrate into the egg.”

The acrosome forms when many little bubbles of membrane (called vesicles) fuse together inside the sperm-to-be. These bubbles hold the enzymes the sperm needs to penetrate and fertilize the egg. When they come together they all fuse into one long sheet of membrane in the front of the sperm, forming a cap, the acrosome.

Without DHA, this membrane fusion doesn’t happen. If the vesicles don’t fuse, the acrosome doesn’t get made and sperm maturation halts. At this point, the researchers only see sperm with round heads, not the cone-shaped heads of healthy sperm.

DHA deficiency

Because humans and other mammals are able to make their own DHA from other fatty acids, DHA deficiency isn’t very common. But, if that DHA-synthesizing enzyme is defective, it could lead to problems with infertility. Low blood levels of DHA have been linked to decreased fertility in the past; a DHA-rich diet could clear up these infertility problems.

“As long as this endogenous [within the body] system is working fine, humans can synthesize enough DHA in their bodies if they have the precursor,” Nakamura said. “But some groups [of people] may have a decreased ability to synthesize DHA. In this case the dietary supplements may help.”

In the long term, the acrosome could be a target for a male birth control pill, if the acrosome formation could be switched on and off, but the researchers aren’t studying that yet. They are, however, looking to other parts of the body to see how the DHA deficiency affects brain and eye function. It could act in very similar ways, by facilitating vesicle fusion, in other parts of the body.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/01/13/omega-3s-vital-for-sperm-health/#ixzz1kKVQErgi

Twin Births in the U.S., Like Never Before By NICHOLAS BAKALAR

More twins are being born in the United States than ever before.

Enlarge This Image

 

From 1980 to 2009, according to a recent report by the National Center for Health Statistics, the rate of twin births rose 76 percent. Now about one in 30 babies born in the United States is a twin.

Two-thirds of the increase is probably explained by the growing use of fertility drugs and assisted reproductive technology. The remainder is mainly attributable to a rise in the average age at which women give birth.

Older women are more likely to produce more than one egg in a cycle, and 35 percent of births in 2009 were to women over age 30, up from 20 percent in 1980. This age-induced increase applies only to fraternal twins, though; the rate of identical twin births does not change with the age of the mother.

From 1980 through 2004, increases in twin birth rates averaged more than 2 percent a year, but from 2004 to 2009, the increase slowed to 1 percent annually. Joyce A. Martin, the lead author of the report, suggested that better techniques in fertility enhancement procedures may have made multiple births less likely.

Twin births have historically been more common among non-Hispanic black women, but rates among white women have risen faster. In 2009, twin birth rates were similar in the two groups: 38 per 1,000 births for black women and 37 for white women. Hispanic women had twins at a rate of 22.5 per 1,000 births.

In 2009, American women had 137,217 babies born as twins, 5,905 as triplets, 355 as quadruplets, and 80 in births of five or more.

Ms. Martin, an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said multiple births can be problematic. “Babies in twin deliveries tend to be born earlier,” she said. “They’re more likely to need hospitalization and more likely not to survive their first year.”

But she added, “It is important to note that although twins are at higher risk, most twins do fine in the long term.”

NICHOLAS BAKALAR

FAQs on Gestational Surrogates at the The Center for Egg Options

What expenses will be paid by the intended parents? The intended parents will pay any and all reasonable and necessary expenses that you incur in connection with your surrogacy program, including, but not limited to, all uninsured medical expenses and co-pays, your legal fees for evaluating and negotiating the surrogacy agreement, any and all necessary counseling expenses, child care reimbursement, life insurance, and lost wages plus your agreed compensation.

May I choose the parents with whom I work with? Yes. You will receive a brief biography from the intended parents for your review. You will then speak to them by phone with an agency program coordinator at The Center for Egg Options.

What happens after I select a couple to work with? Once you are matched with a couple, a surrogacy agreement will be drafted and reviewed by all parties. The intended parents will pay for an attorney to review the Agreement with you. Once everyone has agreed to the terms of the agreement, it will be signed, and the program will then begin with medical testing.

Once the match is made, how long is it before the first embryo transfer? It usually takes 2-3 months to match a surrogate and prepare for the transfer.

Will I have to travel? You will have to travel if the clinic that the intended parents select is in a different city than the one in which you live. The length of stay is usually a few days for each visit.

May I bring my husband and/or children with me if I have to travel? The intended parents pay for travel and accommodations for the surrogate and one companion. Your children may, however, travel with you at your own expense.

Will I have to take any medication? When the medical testing requirements are completed and reviewed by the doctor, you will be ready to start your fertility treatment. You will receive specific instructions about your medications. You will take medications to have your cycle synchronized with the egg donor’s or intended mother’s menstrual cycle and to help your uterine lining thicken in order to accept the transferred embryos. You will take medications both orally, vaginally and through small injections under the skin that most women give themselves. Some women have their husband or friends help them with the injections.

Do I receive compensation? As a gestational surrogate you will receive a base compensation of $25,000.00 to $30,000.00 for your services.  You are not PAID for a baby, you are paid for the service of carrying and delivering a child for the intended parents.

If I get pregnant, where do I deliver the baby? You will deliver the baby in your home state at the hospital of your choice or as agreed upon by all parties involved.

May I remain in contact with the parents and the baby if I wish to? It depends on what you and the intended parents agree to. This can be discussed with the intended parents before you ever agree to work together, and we always try to match you with intended parents with similar expectations about post-birth contact.

Study finds no better odds using 3 embryos in IVF By MARIA CHENG, AP Medical Writer

A new study of fertility treatment found that women who get three or more embryos have no better odds of having a baby than those who get just two embryos.

They also have a greater chance of risky multiple births.

“Women who have gone through infertility treatment want the best chance of having a baby, but we need to explain that the data shows transferring more embryos doesn’t actually do that,” said Dr. Scott Nelson, head of reproductive and maternal medicine at the University of Glasgow, who co-authored the study published in Thursday’s issue of Lancet.

In Western Europe, where some countries pay for in-vitro fertilization, or IVF, many authorities recommend a single embryo transfer for women under 37 and a maximum of two embryos for women 37 to 40. For women over 40, three is often the limit by law.

In the United States, there are relatively lax guidelines and a lack of regulation. That country has seen a rise in multiple births, including the highly publicized case of Nadya Suleman, labeled the “octomom.” She had octuplets in 2009 after her doctor transferred 12 embryos. She already had six children through IVF.

Most fertility treatment in the U.S. is paid for privately and can cost at least $10,000 per cycle, which experts believe encourages the use of more embryos in the belief it will improve odds.

The American Society for Reproductive Medicine recommends single embryo transfers for women under 35, but there is no enforcement of that. For women 35 to 37, they advise two to three embryos, and three to four embryos for women ages 38 to 40.

In their study, Nelson and Debbie Lawlor, of the University of Bristol, analyzed data for all 124,000 IVF cycles in the U.K. between 2003 and 2007, resulting in more than 33,500 live births. The women were 18 to 50 and had varying histories of infertility. During IVF, eggs are fertilized with sperm in a lab dish and then put in the womb.

For women under 40 who had two embryos transferred, the live birth rate was 33 percent overall. With three embryos, that dropped to 25 percent, though researchers weren’t sure why. Nelson said it might be due to the higher risk of miscarriage in a multiple pregnancy and that miscarrying one fetus would jeopardize the entire pregnancy.

For women over 40, the live birth rate was 13 percent whether they had two or three embryos transferred.

Nelson said patients going through IVF may pressure doctors to transfer more embryos, believing it may boost their chances of having a baby and avoiding more treatment.

“Doctors may feel if they don’t do what their patients want, they’ll just go down the street to another clinic,” he said. “They need legislation to help control the situation.”

The U.K. has tougher policies. Transferring three embryos in women under 40 is banned. And if doctors transfer more than three embryos, they must explain their actions to the fertility regulator. In 2010, about 65 percent of embryo transfers involved two embryos and 4 percent used three. The rest were single embryos.

In the U.S., data from 2009 showed about 52 percent of embryo transfers involved two while 23 percent used three embryos. Nearly 12 percent involved four to seven or more embryos. Only about 14 percent used one.

Multiple births have a higher risk of problems, including an increased chance of miscarriage and pregnancy complications like high blood pressure and diabetes. Twins and triplets are more likely to be premature and have an increased risk of developmental problems such as cerebral palsy.

Dr. James Grifo, director of the New York University Fertility Center, agreed doctors should avoid using more than three embryos. But he said it was warranted for some, such as older women with a history of failed treatment.

Grifo said the fact many Americans pay for their treatment out of pocket makes a big difference. “I spend a lot of time trying to talk patients out of the three-embryo transfer and you can’t always do it,” he said.

“My last set of triplets was a patient who demanded I put back three embryos,” he said.

Grifo said she wasn’t swayed by the data. “She delivered the triplets and they’re fine, but I wasn’t happy about it.”