Clare’s fertility treatment

Derek was about to have treatment for prostate cancer. Knowing that it might affect his fertility, he and Clare decided to freeze several vials of semen. After Derek’s treatment, the couple were ready to start their family. Unfortunately they had four rounds of IVF without success. That's when Clare found out she couldn’t have children using her own eggs. She was devastated, but they were determined not to give up. After considering the possibility of using donor eggs, they came to the Lister Fertility Clinic. Our egg-sharing programme allows women to donate half their eggs from a cycle to someone who can’t use their own eggs, in return for free IVF. Clare and Derek had two more IVF cycles using two different donors, but neither were successful. It turned out Clare had an immune condition that made her body reject the embryos. We were able to treat the condition and, happily, the third round of IVF was a success. Clare and Derek now have healthy twin boys, Michael and James. And with one vial of frozen semen left, they decided to give IVF one more try. It worked, and their daughter Ava was born last year.