Fiv with receipt of eggs from the couple: what is the clothing method?

The ROPA method (receipt of oocytes or oocytes from the partner) is an exclusive assisted reproduction treatment of lesbian couples that allows both women to participate actively in the pregnancy.

It is an in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment in which one of the women brings the eggs and the other pregnancy to the baby, which is the result of the union of the eggs of their partner and the sperm of a donor. In this article we explain how to perform step by step, the requirements that must be met to be able to carry it out and its price.

Next you have an index with all the points that we are going to treat in this article.

Index

IVF with receipt of couple eggs: What is the CLOTH method?

1. Treatment with step-by-step CLOTH method
2. Medical requirements for each mother
3. Legal characteristics
4. What is the price?
5. Questions from users
5.1. Is the ROPA method carried out in Social Security?
5.2. Why choose CLOTH method instead of artificial donor insemination (IAD) or IVF with donated sperm?
6. Recommended Reading

Treatment with step-by-step CLOTHING method

The ROPA method is nothing more than an in vitro fertilization that is carried out with two women. The procedure is the same as the donation of eggs, with the difference that the "donor" of the eggs is not anonymous, but is the one who will be one of the future mothers of the baby. Therefore, one of the mothers will bring the genes (DNA) to their future child and the other will gestate.

The steps of the process are:

Ovarian stimulation: the woman who receives the eggs receives a hormonal medication treatment (GnRH analogues and gonadotropins) to stimulate the maturation of more than one ovule, which is what would occur naturally. Thus, we increase the chances of success.
The medication is usually administered by the patient via the subcutaneous route through injections in the abdominal area.
During the treatment period (10-12 days), the woman should go to the doctor periodically to perform ultrasound tests to control follicular growth and schedule the best time to obtain the eggs.
Follicular puncture: the ova are extracted from the ovary by aspiration of the fluid from the follicles, which are the ovarian structures where the eggs mature. It is a simple surgical procedure known as follicular or ovarian puncture. It lasts about 20-30 minutes and is performed under mild anesthesia. Generally, it does not require hospitalization, so the woman can return home that same day.
Egg Fertilization: Eggs obtained with a suitable maturation stage (metaphase II) are fertilized with spermatozoa from an anonymous donor, physically and immunologically compatible with the woman to be born. Fertilization can be done conventionally or through the ICSI method (intracytoplasmic sperm injection).
Embryo culture: after the union of ova and spermatozoa, those correctly fertilized ova (already considered embryos) are selected and left in culture for 3 to 6 days.
Endometrial preparation: the other woman of the couple, the one who is going to get it, receives a hormonal treatment different from that of her partner. Take estrogen and progesterone via vaginal, oral or patch. This treatment favors the growth of the endometrium and allows it to acquire the appearance and thickness (more or less 7-10 mm) suitable for embryo implantation.
Transfer of embryos: when the uterus of the woman to be developed is receptive, the highest quality embryo is selected and is deposited in the uterine cavity. This is a painless and rapid process that does not require anesthesia or special care. It is simply recommended to go with the full bladder to facilitate visualization of the uterus.
The tendency is to transfer a single embryo, although in some cases two are transferred. The transfer of three embryos, the legal maximum in Spain, is usually not performed.

PROCESS OF CLOTHING METHOD

Freezing the surplus embryos: the legislation allows a maximum of 3 embryos to be transferred. Viable embryos that have not been transferred are cryopreserved for future treatments, in case of failure of the first attempt or of wanting to have more offspring. Other possible destinations for these surplus embryos are donation to other couples, research or destruction under certain requirements.
Pregnancy test: Approximately fifteen days after the puncture, the beta-hCG test is performed, confirming if the technique has been successful. This period is what is known as betaespera and is emotionally complicated.

As we see, this procedure allows one woman to provide the genetic endowment and the other to give birth to the future baby of both.

Medical requirements for each mother

As we have discussed, the ROPA method is an IVF process designed exclusively for lesbian couples. The decision of what role each of the women will have belongs to the couple, although it is important to value the medical advice.

The most common is to resort to this technique to get both mothers actively involved in gestation. However, sometimes it can be used because one of the two women has some medical limitation to carry out the complete gestation process: poor oocyte quality, low ovarian reserve, absence of ovaries or uterus, transmissible genetic alterations ...

Normally, it is recommended that the woman providing the eggs be the youngest, as the quality of the eggs decreases with age, especially after the age of 35. It is essential that you have a good ovarian reserve. It is also advisable to carry out genetic analyzes, such as karyotype, on the egg donor.

Taking these factors into account, we will achieve a higher number of embryos and higher quality. In this way, we increase the probability of pregnancy in the pregnant mother.

On the other hand, the woman who is going to have to have a normal uterine cavity, without malformations that can affect the gestation and embryonic development.

It should also be taken into account that the pregnant mother is advisable not to have any disease that can prevent the pregnancy to term, such as thrombophilia or autoimmune diseases. If so, the chances of treatment success would be compromised.

Medical requirements for CLOTHING method

Legal Features

In order to carry out the ROPA method, Law 14/2006 on Assisted Human Reproduction Techniques establishes a single fundamental requirement: marriage. It is not enough to be a couple in fact.

This regulation allows that the gametes of a person can be used by itself or by its spouse. Therefore, it is necessary that the couple of women be married. Otherwise, it would be considered an open egg donation, something totally prohibited in Spain, since the donation of gametes must be anonymous. The ROPA method is a legal exception.

On the contrary, in cases where artificial insemination with donor semen (IAD) or conventional IVF is chosen, without CLOP, marriage will not be necessary. However, it can facilitate the registration process of the baby with two mothers in the Civil Registry.

On the other hand, it should be noted that this is the legal situation of this technique in Spain and that it is not legal in all countries. Therefore, before considering starting this treatment in another country, we recommend consulting the legality of this process, for example, in an assisted reproduction clinic.

What is the price?

The ROPA method has an approximate cost of between ? 3,500 and ? 6,000. Depending on the assisted reproduction clinic where it is performed and the characteristics of each couple, the final budget will vary.

We must bear in mind that, in addition to the costs of the in vitro fertilization process, it is necessary to pay the expenses derived from the sperm donation, such as compensation and donor tests, cryopreservation of the semen sample, etc.

In addition, medication for both ovarian stimulation and endometrial preparation is usually not included in the final cost of treatment.

If you want to get a special price, in Assisted Reproduction ORG we collaborate with several clinics so that your reproductive desire will finally become reality, where you will also get the first free visit to inform you of everything.

You can access it in the following link: See discounts in the method CLOTHING.

User questions

In principle, the ROPA method is not covered by Social Security. The options offered by Social Security for lesbian women are IVF or artificial insemination with donor semen.

In any case, the regulation that regulates the application of these processes in the public health system is not general, but each autonomous community has its own regulation. Not all communities allow access to these treatments to lesbian couples, nor do those who allow it do so under the same conditions. Therefore, it is possible that in the next years the ROPA method will be applied in the Social Security of some communities in cases where there may be some medical indication.

Why choose CLOTH method instead of artificial donor insemination (IAD) or IVF with donated sperm?

In any of the three techniques (IVF, artificial insemination and ROPA) it is only one of the women that will provide the genetic endowment. In addition, in all of them, sperm donation is required. However, in the ROPA method, the woman who does not give up the eggs has a much more active role compared to the other methods.

Although in FIV and IAD the two women are considered the legal mothers of the born, as both sign the consent of the technique, only one of them is involved in the medical process. With the ROPA method, both are equally necessary and feel equally involved in the conception of your child.

For this reason, more and more women's couples choose the CLOTH method as an option to be mothers.

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