From Challenges to Joy

Every fertility journey is different, and for Kim and her husband, the path to parenthood brought both challenges and moments of hope. With the care and expertise of the team at Bourn Hall Clinic, they explored several treatment options and faced each step with determination. In the end, their perseverance was rewarded with the arrival of their much-loved son. 

Here, Kim shares her story in her own words: 

“I came off the pill six months after we got married. However, after two years, I found myself not pregnant, so my mum encouraged me to go to see the GP. I booked a GP appointment, and my blood test results came back fine, so it was suggested that my husband would need to take a test. 

We were both a little gobsmacked when the results came back with only one sperm. After a few months, we were referred for IVF and chose Bourn Hall in Cambridgeshire, the world’s first IVF clinic. To encourage increasing sperm count, my husband was recommended to use some alternative options initially. When neither of these options increased his sperm count, he was diagnosed with Azoospermia. This was extremely difficult for my husband. The consultant Oliver Wiseman offered a MicroTESE, and unfortunately, no sperm were collected. We were advised to choose a sperm donor, which we did. 

Additionally, I found out that I had a low AMH (Anti-Müllerian Hormone), which meant that I had a low ovarian reserve. 

The decision was made to proceed with IVF and ICSI. We had 14 frozen sperm from my husband and were advised that not all of these would survive the thawing process, of which only 7 did. The chances for us of conceiving a child were looking extremely slim. 

Due to the low AMH levels, they collected 5 eggs. Despite having a backup plan with a sperm donor, they were able to use my husband’s sperm, and we were told that there were 4 blastocysts following the ICSI procedure. Only one of the blastocytes

was usable. 4 days later, we went for embryo transfer for the one blastocyte (which was B). B was transferred. We were very doubtful that we would achieve a pregnancy. However, I had a faint positive line on a pregnancy test a week later. 

A further week later, the pregnancy test was showing as positive. We couldn’t believe our luck. Thank you to Bourn Hall and the team, as our son is now nine years old and is an absolute joy.”