stop-gap measure

Since there's really nothing exciting to blog about - at least nothing related to egg donation, I thought I'll put up the long-due ultrasound picture of my ovaries. This was scanned after the egg retrieval when my follicles were still puffy and enlarged, and while I was gritting my teeth and putting up with the worst cramps and heartburn ever. Gosh, I'd almost forgotten those days of misery!



On another note, it's Friday! Happy days.

Probably the last visit to Dr C

I woke up today feeling so much better, as if it's a totally new me. The heartburn was still there, making my every sleeping position hurt save for the only position where I face up. At least the nausea had subsided! I proceeded to have my usual breakfast (banana + oatmeal + flax seed smoothie) and ambled along to Dr C's clinic, with a group of old grannies walking past me at one point. How embarrassing.

Dr C was really glad to see me better and obviously being in good spirits put everyone at ease. She gave me an external ultrasound as it's probably too painful to perform a vaginal ultrasound, remarked on how enlarged my ovaries are still, and that the fluid retention has gone down a great deal. This time I rememebered to ask her for a picture of my ovaries, which I will post tomorrow. Very cool.

She made sure I'm still drinking plenty of water ("1.5l of Pocari Sweat in one evening and my pee is shockingly clear, Dr C!") and advised me not to drink any coffee/tea. Exclamation marks must have popped out of my head because she quickly said it's not good for me and I said I only drink one cup of coffee a day, that's all! So one cup is ok but not more than that. She went into "mother-naggy" mode and said too much caffeine isn't good for you, etc etc, and while it was a little weird to have her "nag" at me, I thought it was quite charming.

Then came the good news. Out of the 55 eggs retrieved, 44 were mature (!!!) and 38 were fertilised. Wow. I almost fell off my chair. That just means M has a very very good chance of getting pregnant! Fantastic. Dr C was positively beaming too, so it was a very happy ending to my egg donation adventure. Of course I have to return six months later for one final blood test to make sure I am not HIV positive before the embroys can be implanted in M, but at this point, it's pretty much the end of the journey.

I told Dr C that I may be donating my eggs again but this time it will be in London. She said it will be a logistical nightmare, as expected, but I'm willing to give it a go if it means so much to someone else.

Poked #7

My ovaries are starting to feel very bloated. It's an odd sensation, as if my period is coming but the fullness is felt at the sides instead of the middle. I have been feeling nauseous all day too which made my little venture to Causeway Bay an uncomfortable affair.

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I came across this blog on egg donation (based in the U.S.) and interestingly enough, the blogger wrote "...in England, it is legal to donate eggs, but illegal to pay anyone for doing so. And, of course, no one ever donates eggs."

It's funny that she thinks this way because I am donating my eggs for free. Totally free, no strings attached. Really. In any case, it is illegal to pay anyone for their eggs in Hong Kong. I find it quite odd that a fellow egg donor like her wouldn't think that someone would be altruistic enough to donate eggs for free.

I suppose making egg donation a commercial venture is probably the best way to address the severe shortage of eggs in Hong Kong but on the flip side, I can also see many issues that can result in an exploitation of young, ignorant uninformed girls who are desperate for cash. In my (very humble) opinion, a more focused and nationalised approach will be best - the government should create more public awareness which will enable women to voluntarily go forward and donate eggs.

For me, I think the best reward is in truly helping another human being. That is, very simply, priceless.