IVF Egg Collection

I have now taken the final IVF injection. Otherwise known as the ‘trigger injection’. This is the final part of the medication side of things before the IVF egg collection. The ‘trigger injection’ is administered about thirty-six hours before you have your eggs collected. I discussed this briefly in my previous post, ‘IVF Treatment and Process’. In a nutshell, this injection ‘triggers’ ovulation so that the eggs mature and become ready to be collected.

I’m feeling a little nervous and anxious about the procedure. My mind is racing with so many thoughts, and I really wish they were more positive! What if the eggs aren’t good because of my age? How will I deal with all of this again if it doesn’t work? As I get ready for the egg collection, these thoughts really start to weigh on me.

To add to my worries, I had also received a phone call from one of the nurses. They let me know that my IVF specialist would be on leave and wouldn’t be there for the egg collection. Instead, I was told I’d be assigned a male IVF specialist for the procedure. Honestly, I was a bit frustrated. I would have preferred to have my own specialist there, but I couldn’t postpone the process after all the time and money I had already invested. It also made things more stressful to hear that I’d be working with a male doctor. I don’t want to sound sexist—it’s just that I’ve always felt more comfortable with a female doctor.

On the day of the IVF egg collection, it is an early start. I am out the door by 5am. My mom kindly drove me there and will also be picking me up afterwards. After the procedure, you need someone to come get you because they won’t let you leave the post-op waiting area until that person shows up.

When I got to the hospital, I had to pay for my stay, which cost $2,123.00. Thankfully, my superannuation fund covered it! If you aren’t planning on accessing superannuation for IVF and you don’t have savings set aside (like I didn’t), it’s worth thinking about getting health insurance. It can really help with some of those costs. Plus, having insurance is great if you want to give birth at a private hospital. In my case, if I’m fortunate enough to get pregnant, my IVF specialist, who also would be my obstetrician, only works out of a private hospital. So, I needed to get gold-level hospital coverage. Just something to think about!

Please be aware! If you want healthcare coverage for childbirth in a private hospital, there is a minimum waiting period of 12 months before you can access this coverage with any healthcare fund. I chose BUPA health insurance since I was already with them and simply increased my current level of insurance. I pay $144.70 every fortnight for their Gold Comprehensive Hospital cover, which will cover most of the costs associated with childbirth. Additionally, I can add my baby to the policy once they are born. It’s also worth noting that you can opt for birth in a public hospital, which typically incurs minimal costs. To find out what is covered when you give birth in a public hospital, check out Pregnancy, Birth and Baby.

After I made my payment, I went to a waiting area, where I didn’t spend much time before a staff member called me into another room. I changed into a hospital gown and chatted with one of the nurses, answering a few questions. Before long, a team wheeled my bed into another roomready for my IVF egg collection.

Whilst I was waiting to meet the doctor who would perform the procedure, I spoke with a lovely nurse. I told this nurse about the IVF treatment and shared some of my story. The nurse then told me that she was actually having an embryo transfer that very same day. She said she was nervous, as the last transfer she had was not successful. I wished her all the very best, and she said the same to me. It was really nice meeting her, someone also going through IVF, on this very day.

After the procedure was completed, I woke up in the recovery room. When I started to wake up, I could have sworn a nurse said to me that I had eight eggs successfully retrieved during the egg collection. I heard ‘there are eight’. In fact, that is what I then went on to tell family members that day when I was asked how it all went!

I stayed in the recovery room for about 45 minutes. I was given painkillers, cheese and crackers. Perfect post-op platter! After the IVF egg collection, a nurse explained to me that I needed to rest today and not lift anything heavy. I was told the nursing team would phone later that day to see how I was going. I felt a little bit crampy, but other than that, I was fine. The entire turnaround time was really quick. I arrived at 6am and was out by 9.45am.

Once your eggs are collected, they’re whisked off to the lab right away. In the lab, they place your eggs with the sperm in a dish to start the fertilisation process. If there are any doubts about the sperm quality, they’ll use a method called Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI), where they insert one sperm directly into each egg. This is what they did for me after the IVF egg collection.

Shortly after I arrived home, I received a phone call from the hospital lab. They told me that I had fifteen eggs retrieved and that eleven of them were mature enough to fertilise. Where did I get eight eggs from? Hallucinating, I guess! I was thrilled.

They went on to say that they had fertilised these eggs with the donor sperm, and now it was time to wait. I was told that the next day, the lab would check to see whether the eggs had successfully fertilised. For the successful ones, now embryos, they will usually grow these until Day 5, reaching the Blastocyst stage. This stage is ideal for implantation because research shows that embryos that reach this point are more likely to successfully implant in the uterus.

Not all the eggs will fertilise, and sometimes it’s even zero. There are many reasons for this happening; everyone is different. For me personally, I feel that my age might play a role in the success of this.

There is still a long way to go, and many unknowns. But I’m starting to feel more positive as I move through each new step.

What’s up next? Will there be an IVF embryo transfer?

Have you read my post on accessing superannuation for IVF? CLICK HERE.

Recommended Podcast: First IVF Cycle: what to expect