試管嬰兒、受贈卵子、受贈精子、体外受精、卵子提供、精子提供、체외수정、난자 공여 、정자 공여、In vitro fertilization , Oocyte(Egg) recipient , Sperm recipient、试管婴儿、借卵(供卵) 、借精(供精)
I always believe that I can have an ordinary family …
Its came as a big blow to me when my husband when I was told that my husband has azoospermia.
After I was told of his condition, we took time out to communicate about his condition and went on to try AID. We did that treatment for more than 20 times but none was successful.
We then decided to head to Taiwan for microscopic fertilization and I got pregnant after the first treatment.
Miss A have always thought that conceiving a child is an easy thing to do. She have always thought that as long as she wants it, it would come naturally.
However after she found out that her husband (Mr. B) had azoospermia, things changed, getting pregnant became something almost impossible.
After few rounds of discussion, the couple decided to go on to try AID treatment. They went on 20 over treatments for a duration of close to 4 years, none was successful.
However, this year, the couple headed over to Taiwan and had microscopic fertilization treatment done. This treatment ended their pain, infertility was finally over.
At the age of 28, Miss A married Mr B who is 7 years her senior. It was only when Miss A was 30 years old when the couple seriously considered giving birth to a child.
“I just thought that it would be good to let natural take it’s course. All we did was counting the ovulation period ourselves. We tried this method for two years but it wasn’t successful. It was then we decided to book an appointment with the obstetrics and gynaecology nearby, we also set an appointment with another infertility clinic that we found online.’’
After one round of basis checkup at the clinics, Mr B was diagnosed with azoospermia.
“When I heard of the results, I was surprised, but I really couldn’t understand what happened. I have always thought that I was the one with infertility issues.” said Miss A
On the contrary, Mr. B said, “When I was told that I was infertile, it was a huge blow to me. I immediately apologized to my wife as I felt sorry for her.”
Despite the fact that the infertility was on Mr B, Miss A have never once blamed him of it. After discussion, the couple decided to proceed on with treatment at a clinic that specializes in male infertility.
“The only treatment for Azoospermia was to try TESE. Where the sperm in the testis is take, if there are some sperm in the testis, the doctor could then help to retrieve my sperm. ”
Mr. B had a glimmer of hope for TESE surgery but no sperm was found during the surgery. Despite the fact that no sperm was found, it did not stop the couple from trying to get pregnant. They were determined to find ways to get pregnant. Even though Mr B has no sperms, they were determined to get a child.
At that moment, the couple has four options to choose from;
- Give up the idea of getting pregnant and having a child
- Adopt a child
- Non-Spouse AID Artificial Insemination
- AID between relatives
“I’m only left with adoption or AID. My preference then was to adopt a child. I have thought through the process of AID whereby the sperm of another man would enter the woman I love and I am uncomfortable with it.” Mr. B said.
Whether it is adoption or AID, the couple went on deeper discussions every day. They still have thoughts of giving birth to our own child who is happy.
“We discussed about it daily. We have different thoughts daily which is why some of our discussions ended with quarrels. If we were to adopt a child, we will have a child within a day and we will have to slowly adapt to the fact that we are parents of a child. The fact is that my child is healthy and I would like her to experience the process of getting pregnant and giving birth. ” Mr. B said.
In fact, Miss A have all along decided that she would like to have AID done.
“I would really love to get pregnant and have my own children and that’s why I have all along decided that AID was the way to go. However I could not voice this thought out as my husband have been blaming himself for azoospermia and I know that if I was to voice it out, he will not be able to object it even though he doesn’t like the idea of it. I do not want him to do it unwillingly and regret when the child is born and feels that the child is not his. Hence I decided to let my husband be the one to make the decision if we should do AID.” Said Miss A
After the husband have decided to do AID, the couple then went on to decide if they would like AID with relatives or non-relatives. We decided on non-relatives.
“If you borrow sperm from your relatives, we are worried that the relationship of the child would become complicated afterwards and become troublesome. Hence we decided to choose to borrow from others” said Mr B.
Difficulties Faced During AID during the first Appointment
It was hard to start AID treatment, but the treatment was not smooth. The first issue that the couple faced was that the hospital they were seeking treatment at (Hospital C) needed them to wait for a sperm donor for 7 months.
“I was thinking that if I were to wait for the sperm donor for 7 months and if is unsuccessful, I am not sure how long more I have to wait for the next treatment. It seems to me that the hospital was not efficient enough and hence I went on to set an appointment with hospital H. However the next available appointment timeslot for hospital H was 8 months later. Hence I waited 7 months and went on to my first AID treatment at hospital C, and another AID treatment 4 months later at hospital C following the first treatment, but both treatment failed. Few months later after both my treatments failed, I went on to hospital H for the appointment. Hospital H was able to provide treatments monthly and so we stopped the treatment with hospital C to concentrate on going for treatments at hospital H.” said Mr B
First ICSI Treatment in Honji Fertility Centre in Taiwan and was a Success!
The couple went on to do almost 20 times of AID and all failed.
“After we started on AID treatments, I would break down every month when my period arrives, but eventually I got used to it. After the 10th AID treatment failed, I went on to search for other possible treatments that we are able to use.” Said Miss A
During my search online, Honji Fertility Centre appeared.
Non-spouse AID treatment in Japan has a success pregnancy rate of only about 3%, however through ICSI Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) treatment in Taiwan the success pregnancy rate is 50-60%. Miss A then went on to sign-up for Honji Fertility Centre’s seminar in Japan to understand the treatment. After she attended the seminar she liked the way the Dr Hung Chi Chang portrayed himself and his treatments and hence she decided to head along to Taiwan with her husband to get ICSI treatment.
“The centre have got Japanese employees that were able to answer our queries and set appointment for us for our first consultation. They were really detailed, careful and friendly throughout the process of answering our questions. The things that we have got to prepare to bring over to Taiwan was not troublesome to find and was easy to prepare.” Said Miss A.
Miss A only travelled to Taiwan three times during the whole cycle of treatment. The first time was for consultation, second time was for egg retrieval and the third time was for implantation. During the whole duration when she was at the clinic, the clinic had Japanese speaking employees to assist her. She was always able to get her questions answered and she felt reassured.
“I got pregnant on my first ICSI treatment with them, I was surprised. On the 9th day after the implantation treatment, I saw two lines on the pregnancy test kit first time in my life. I went on to the hospital three days later and confirmed that I was pregnant. Although I was pregnant I was really worried that I will experience a miscarriage. Few weeks down the pregnancy was stable and I was able to feel fetal movement and that was when I finally got a peace of mind.” Miss A said.
Seated right in front of me during this interview is Miss A, she is currently 8 months pregnant. She mentioned that it was a right choice for her to proceed to Taiwan for treatment, as days goes by looking at her tummy getting bigger, she was slowly preparing herself for parenthood. Right now at this moment, the couple is already discussing on the name of the child and deciding on how to tell the child how he was ‘created’.
“We have decided that we will tell our child about how he was “created” when he/she is 1 or 2 years old. We would like him to know that he was born with the help of someone amazing.” said Mr B.
As I am writing this report I can feel the deep mutual understanding and amazing connection and relationship between the couple despite the fact that they have arguments often.
“If my husband was not diagnosed with azoospermia, we would not have discussed on the child’s future so seriously.” Said Miss A.
“Yes my wife is right. If I was not diagnosed we would not be having so many about becoming parents, about giving our children the right environment in order for them to become happy. We have always been discussing this during this journey whereby I am fighting azoospermia. Discussing about our child have become our habit that would continue on even after he is born” said Mr B
“Through this infertility journey, our marriage became stronger” said the couple.
“I heard that there are more and more boys suffering with azoospermia just like me. I would suggest those suffering under such condition to seek treatment at their centre as soon as you can together with your wife. Start treatment and not waste time. Do not make the same mistake as me, I sought treatment much later than I should and that is a regret of mine” said Mr B.