Keri (42) and Kevin (31) came to us after years of trying to have a child together.
When we met this lovely couple earlier this year after choosing them amongst the applications for the Fertility Journey, they had been trying to conceive for 3 years without success.
At FIV Marbella we know this is a hard journey to be on and can be made harder when an egg donor has to be introduced to affect a successful outcome.
Keri had a low AMH which is what naturally happens to women over time; the fact that we all know is female fertility decreases with age. Keri and Kevin applied for the fertility Journey already having decided that they wanted to move forward with egg donation treatment.
In March Keri and Kevin received the phone call from our International patient coordinator Michelle Wood, to say that they had been chosen to participate in this year’s Fertility Journey, consisting of a free cycle of egg donation in Marbella. At the beginning of April, they travelled over to us for their first consultation.
In Spain, the law establishes that egg and sperm donations must be anonymous. This means that, unlike what happens in the UK, the recipient cannot choose who her donor will be. The selection process is carried out by the professionals who will carry out the treatment, based on a series of criteria to guarantee compatibility. This generates concern and worry amongst patients, as they don’t get to know the physical aspect of their donor. In response to this problem, at FIV Marbella we have created Ovomatch, a mobile app that uses facial recognition technology to find a donor with the closest similarity as possible.
We took the opportunity to use our facial recognition technology whilst the couple were at the clinic in April; Keri took a “selfie” of herself and introduced hers and Kevin’s phenotypic features into the system (hair colour, complexion, blood group) and the app began to work.
We picked up on an endometrial polyp which Keri was advised to have removed prior to treatment. This was performed in the following weeks at her local hospital. By this point we already had a compatible donor match for them.
We had to cancel a fresh embryo transfer in June due to low progesterone levels which then led us to a personalized hormonal plan for Keri and a frozen embryo transfer in August. We transferred a single AA day 5 blastocyst and the couple have another 2 frozen blastocysts.
On the 15th August we received the phone call we were all waiting for with the news we all looked forward to hearing, they WERE PREGNANT!
On 19th August we received images of Keri’s early pregnancy scan and again received the news we all wanted, there was a yolk sac and Foetal Heart Beat!!
Our philosophy is based on clarity, simplicity and humanity to provide the best service, not only therapeutic but also on a personal level. We are aware of how important it is for a woman or a couple to make the decision of having a child and even harder when having to travel abroad for treatment, we therefore offer direct and personal contact with all of our patients throughout the process to achieve the desired pregnancy. At FIV Marbella we are transparent. We want our patients to feel this. We do not want added stress to an already emotional procedure.
