Why antral follicle count is a number you need to know Antral follicle count is a reliable readout of how active your ovaries are. Together with AMH and FSH, antral follicle counts adds a precious information to what exactly the time is on your personal biological clock and how many eggs you have left. You can then build on this information [...]
Blond hair, blue eyes? A fertility doctor explains what couples look for in an egg donor Deciding to pursue egg donation is a very difficult decision to make. It can take years, and even then, after it happens, partners may not feel the same way about egg donation. What often surprises during counselling sessions with clients is how [...]
Dr. Elizabet Clua Dr. Elisabeth Clua has blue eyes and blonde hair. One could easily think she looks like a typical German doctor. Only that she is not. Elisabeth is Spanish and a leading expert in reproductive biology. Her daily job is egg donation or, more precisely, matching donated eggs (from healthy, young women) with their [...]
Dexeus is known for the first egg donation in 1981. A few months back, I was lucky to meet several dedicated doctors and biologists from Dexeus clinic in Barcelona at a conference for Reproductive Medicine in Germany. I used this opportunity to make an interview with the two specialists and forward questions to them [...]
Image credit: atibodyphoto at FreeDigitalPhotos.net The moment a woman has one or two unsuccessful series of IVF behind her, she becomes ready to do anything, really anything to make the next IVF cycle work. Many of the women I talk to have a long history of fertility treatments, so the question that often comes up is [...]
Honestly, I never really wondered what exactly happens in a moment when egg and sperm unite. I assumed, science would know all about it; for such an important event one would expect tons of literature describing every millisecond of it, right? Or at least a handful of studies demonstrating what happens in the moment of creation, a moment that each [...]
Some weeks ago I received one of the best comments on my blog so far (thank you Iva Stankovic!). This is what Iva asked me: Dear Darja, first of all, I liked very much your book about improving egg quality in women over 35, it's informative and motivational, thank you for writing it! As you may know, there is [...]
Image credit: Tuomas Lehtinen at FreeDigitalPhotos.net What hormones are tested for fertility? This happens to me often: a woman writes to me and tells me all about her fertility journey and asks a ton of questions. Then I say: all right, but could you please send me your recent bloodwork? Then the woman sends me a [...]
