How to Spend $350.00 For the Rest of My Childbearing Years

Last week we got a letter from our fertility clinic asking us to fill out paperwork about what our 2010 plans were for our 3 remaining frozen embryos. Among the pages of consent forms was a bill for an annual storage fee of $350.00. Funny that when I finally got around to contacting the clinic yesterday about the $500.00 that we paid back at the end of the cycle in July thinking it bought a full calendar year of cryopreservation, I was told, nope everyone pays the same annual fee even if you did IVF on Dec 31st! Insane!!!

As we STILL have insurance paperwork to fill out to file for the remainder of any benefit left before the deadline I added this to the growing pile of pre-baby To-dos. Luckily about a week before Christmas our 1st claim, the one same one that been in some state of processing or denial since July, finally paid out as much as allowed.

But back to babies on ice. It's not like we hadn't thought about what to do with any extras that we didn't choose to implant. In fact in all our IVF paperwork there were pages, yes pages of legally binding agreements as to who would take possession if we divorced or in the event of our death of said potential babies. The decision about what to implant was almost as big as the decision to DO IVF in the first place. I have a real problem with any clinic that encourages high number transfers just for the sake of keeping pregnancy stats up compromising patient and fetus health. NC Octomom I didn't want to be!

The initial cycle produced 24 eggs, 17 fertilized, and 5 were of quality to keep. Of those we put 2 back with 3 in the freezer as our insurance policy if I didn't carry this pg to term. At the time we naturally thought we would be nuts to not keep them. After all after going through a process much more involved that we ever realized seemed stupid not to keep them. But this begs the question of what to do with them long term.

What if we wanted another child, would we risk multiples and put back all 3, would we try naturally or go in with part of the work already done. I also have to throw in that while easier that the innital cycle, subsequqent FET cycles involve more shots, more invasive procedures and of course more money.

I don't have a moral issue if at some point we discarded the embryoes or donated them for research. We would of course have alot of discussion if and when that time ever come and as much as I think 2 kids and we are finished, I don't want to close a door.

So in the end I let the clinic know a check was in the mail. This was not a decision about money, as the amount is insignificant in comparison to the emotional toll that IVF involves. Instead it's about keeping choices on the table for the future, whatever that future looks like for us in one year but more likely the next five.