Any parent can tell you that having kids will cost you a fortune, and they’re not wrong. You feed them, you clothe them, and that’s before you account for nappies, toys and potential university fees. But what about when you’ve spent £60,000 on your child before you’ve even seen an ultrasound photograph of them growing safely inside your tummy?
That was the reality for my husband, Stephen, and I after we decided to start trying for a baby shortly after we got married in August 2014.
After a diagnosis in his family, Stephen had discovered he was a carrier of cystic fibrosis – an incurable condition that can cause chronic lung damage. So, when we started thinking about children, I decided to get tested, too. When we learnt I also carried the gene, meaning our chances of conceiving a healthy baby were almost impossible, I was terrified but, determined, we decided to look into pre-implantation genetic testing (PGT).
It was similar to IVF – harvesting eggs and creating embryos in a lab – except then embryos would be sent away for genetic testing. It meant we’d be getting a designer baby, one that wouldn’t​ be affected by the condition. In December 2014, we were referred to our closest PGT facility, the Care Fertility clinic in Nottingham. We went through rigorous testing and questioning, Stephen and I even had to sign a form to prove we were doing this to test for genetic abnormalities only, not to choose gender.
After several months of prep, we were eventually granted three NHS-funded attempts, and in September 2015 we were able to start our first round, which resulted in two healthy embryos.
This story is from the April 27, 2020 edition of WOMAN - UK.
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This story is from the April 27, 2020 edition of WOMAN - UK.
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