.I recently went thru and absolute nightmare with Extraordinary Conceptions LLC , and I would like to share this and warn people intending to use them, to be vigilant, do your research, make sure all your communications are in writing and email, and trust your gut!
I chose a "Premium" donor #3045 for the Extraordinary Conceptions database in August on 2016; we chose her based on our strict criteria; despite her age (33), she was a previous donor with a very high egg count, very tall and beautiful, talented, intelligent, Masters Degree, athletic etc.
Her fee (the donor) was to be $31,500 USD, which we were more than happy to pay as she was exactly what we were looking for. Everything started off like a dream; as first time intended parents we thought we had a dream agency who would guide us and do everything right.
After all, isn't that what the agency is supposed to do? Support the dreams of people trying to have children?
Well we thought so and trusted them....but it was all about the money.
First time we spoke to Tracy Devany, who leads the donor coordination at Extraordinary Conceptions, the donor wanted 20K as her fee. Then it went up to 25k. THEN, after about the 4th conversation when it was clear that we really wanted this donor, it went up magically to $31,500 USD.
We had a clinic already picked out in AZ, close to where we reside. We communicated to the agency that we had a fertility doctor. THEN they came back and said this donor would ONLY work with an IVF clinic in California. So we didnt want to lose her, we said yes. End of August we signed paperwork, with EC and the clinic, and waited. End of September, the donor had her Day 3 testing done. After that, she had to fly to California to be medically screened and cleared by the doctor for us to get the green light to go ahead and synch...Our timeline was to cycle in Jan/early Feb.
Not wanting to trust the standard genetic screens which screen for less than 100 carrier diseases and disorders, we asked that when the donor went for screening, that the ivf clinic administer additional genetic screening. We received pushback from the agency, that the donor had donated many times before, had screening, etc etc, and that none was needed. We pushed more, and said we would not go forward unless the donor took a wider screen that did more disorders. The agency reluctantly agreed, and told us to talk to the doctor first.
We spoke to our doctor, and told him we wanted more genetic screening, and what did he know of that he could administer to the donor. We spoke to him over the phone; he was rude, and told us directly that he didn't know what we meant. We said that we know there's genetic test that screen for more disorders, and could he do one, to which he said he had never heard of such a test and to his knowledge there were none!! He was abrupt and rude and the conversation ended promptly.
We did our research and came up with Counsyl genetic screening, We informed the agency that the donor would need to take Counsyl, and to arrange that clinic acquire the kit to administer on the donor during her screening. The agency obliged, and THEN we found our from the admin assistant at the ivf clinic, that THE DOCTOR HAD COUNSYL KITS IN HIS OFFICE!!!!! Not only did he lie directly to our faces, he mislead us and tried to push us NOT TO TEST our donor, just like the agency pushed.
Sound fishy? $20k to $25k to $31k donor fee? Donor only will work with 1 doctor? Agency and doctor push us not to test the donor?
The donor was tested mid Nov, finally. We were tested at the as well on Nov 22, 2016.
2 weeks later, labs came back. NOT ONLY did the donor have a genetic disorder called PKU, that would be detrimental to a child's development, my husbands labs came back WITH THE SAME DISORDER!!!
We would have had an affected infected baby with SEVERE developmental defects, had we not pressed and pushed for this to be done above and beyond standard testing!!
After reviewing all we've been thru, we suspect deceit on their respective parts for financial gain. We are now in a lawsuit with Extraordinary Conceptions.
NOT ONLY was this donor listed as "premium" at 33 years of age, she is on the cusp of too old to donate. AND, we went back to review her donation history and learned that we were to be her EIGHTH donation!!! The American Society for Reproductive Medicine regulates clinics, that donors should only donate SIX times in a lifetime... She was with Extraordinary Conceptions for 6 out of her 7 donations, and was working with that same clinic all the while.
This is a case of money-hungry people with an utter disregard for the lives they affect and the people they hurt.
Please stay away!! I would ask anyone else affected by Extraordinary Conceptions to please send me a message right away.
We are now 4 months behind when we were to cycle, and we are now screening 4 donors in advance; they are all to take Recombine genetic screening that we can review prior to selecting our future dream donor. And for WAY less than $31k USD.
Thank you everyone! Please let me know if you've had a negative experience like this with Extraordinary Conceptions LLC in California.