Updated on December 9, 2024
Marie and Bartosz made the journey from Germany to the Czech Republic for their first appointment at Next Fertility IVF Prof. Zech Pilsen earlier this month.
The couple travelled to Pilsen on December 9th to meet the team that would be looking after them for the next few months.
During their trip, the couple enjoyed the sights and sounds of the historic city, including Pilsen’s magical Christmas market.
Marie said the couple was impressed with the service at Next Fertility IVF Prof. Zech and hoped to begin treatment early next year.
She said: “Everything went well at the clinic, they were very kind.
“They are searching now for a donor and we can hopefully start around February.”
Updated on December 6, 2024
A chance meeting in a bar blossomed into a long-distance love affair for German couple Bartosz and Marie-Christine Banga.
The pair, who are the latest couple to take part in the Fertility Journeys Project, first met in Hamburg during Marie’s birthday celebration.
Marie said: “I celebrated my 39th birthday in November 2018 and Bartosz had a company party in Hamburg and we met late at night in my favorite bar.
“It was as if time stood still – we were drunk kissing, exchanged numbers and soon met for our first ‘serious date’. We were both so nervous and shy, even though we had already kissed.
“Although there was around 400 km between us, we managed to see each other often and after a few dates, it was clear that we wanted to have a future together.”
Six months after they met, Marie moved to IT coordinator Bartosz’s hometown of Ratingen near Düsseldorf where the couple settled and began trying to grow their family.
Marie, a professional singer and stage actress, said: “We knew pretty soon after we met that we wanted to try to have a child. At first, we approached things very casually, but I wasn’t worried because my mother had me at 42.”
But after a year of trying without success, Marie’s gynaecologist referred the couple to a fertility clinic. They chose to go abroad for treatment, where Marie decided to undergo PGT-A due to her age.
A fresh embryo transfer failed, but the first frozen embryo transfer worked, much to Marie and Bartosz’s delight. Sadly, they suffered an upsetting loss at seven weeks.
Marie continued: “In total, I had eight egg retrievals and six transfers. After the pregnancy, the next four embryos didn’t stick. We also had two cycles where premature ovulation occurred, so all the medications were for nothing.”
She added: “We had already spent a fortune, more than €30,000, on fertility treatment. Everything we earned and saved was spent on treatments, diagnostics, acupuncture and vitamins.”
Realising that using a donor egg would give them their best chance of conceiving, Marie and Bartosz began making inquiries at fertility clinics when they discovered Fertility Road’s Fertility Journeys project.
The couple applied and were amazed to be chosen for free egg donation IVF at Next Fertility IVF Prof. Zech Pilsen in the Czech Republic.
Marie said: “I was a bit overwhelmed by the news because I was in a phase where I was under a lot of stress at work and I wondered whether it was serious. I had applied at very short notice, shortly before the registration deadline, and didn’t expect to get a response at all.
“Bartosz was enthusiastic and then I realised for the first time that we had really received a gift and we were really happy about it.
Marie and Bartosz will visit Next Fertility IVF Prof. Zech in Pilsen for the first time on Monday, December 9th.
“We are looking forward to it!” says Marie.
