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Have a baby with a little help from a friend

Kathryn Ryan
16/10/2008

A MOTHER who conceived after a friend donated her eggs has launched an appeal to help other couples desperate to have children.

Rebecca Swain was 16 when she went through premature menopause and was told by doctors that she would be unable to conceive naturally.

She and her partner Andy Wilson then spent four years waiting for donor eggs at St Mary’s Hospital, Manchester, before Lindsey O’Brien, who worked with Rebecca’s mum, volunteered to help them out.

The two women started treatment to transfer the egg within weeks and 16 months ago Rebecca, 25, gave birth to Jessica.

Now she and Lindsey, 34, of Partington, are launching the Give Hope, Give Life appeal to help 300 couples across Greater Manchester who need a donor to start a family.

Rebecca, a hairdresser from Eccles, said: "We had four agonising years waiting for a donor when a doctor suggested we start asking friends.

"My mum was talking about us one day at work when Lindsey said she would like to help us. We arranged a meeting and just clicked. I am so grateful to her; she has given us a wonderful family.

"She was so open about it - she has a family and she just wanted to help someone else be happy by having a family, too.

"She sees Jessica every now and then and we let her know about her progress but she has two daughters of her own so she has her hands full. She will always be a very special friend for Jessica.

"I feel it’s important to raise the level of awareness about egg donation in the Manchester area and Britain. Some people aren’t lucky enough to find their own donor and need to rely on the kindness of strangers."

Dr Cheryl Fitzgerald, of the Infertility Unit at St Mary’s, said: "There’s lack of awareness that there is a donor shortage. We desperately need women who could help.

"Many don’t realise that donors are needed or that they themselves could become a donor.

"The Give Hope, Give Life appeal aims to address this problem in the Manchester region."

For more information on becoming an egg donor call: 0161 901 2708 or the National Gamete Donation Trust on: 0845 226 9193.