Hi, we are Catherine and Richard Overstreet, loving couple from Portsmouth, Va. We have been married almost 3 years and together almost 5 years and having been trying for a baby since we got married. IVF with donor eggs is our best shot at having a child with part of our DNA and to experience the pregnancy journey.

Our infertility journey began in 2024 when Catherine, at 30, discovered through hormone testing that her AMH levels—an indicator of egg reserve—were extremely low. This suggested early menopause, which was devastating news for someone so young. Recent tests show her levels have dropped even further, and we’ve been advised that using donor eggs offers our best chance at pregnancy. Since then, Catherine has undergone multiple tests to rule out other complications and has worked hard on her health, losing over 40 lbs to improve our chances of success.

When we start our infertility journey, Richard got his levels tested and it came back that his sperm count was low. He tried medication to see about improving his numbers and it was not successful, it actually made the numbers worse. As a result we need to freeze a sample to make sure when the time comes we have multiple options via fresh and frozen.

We are asking assistance as IVF itself is expensive but increasingly so when you add in the need for donor eggs and paying for cryostorage. We have two different routes we can go, we can do a single cycle and apply for a possible discount which would make it around $20,000 or we can do a program called shared risk. Shared risk includes 6 egg cycles and is more money upfront, $47,000, but we have the ability to get our money back if at the end we don’t have a baby.

Any amount makes a difference and helps bring us closer to our dream of starting a family. If you are unable to give at this time, we would appreciate if you could share our story and keep us in your thoughts. We truly thank you for supporting us in this journey.

With love and gratitude,

The Overstreets

UPDATE:

Since originally sharing our story, we were finally able to move forward with our embryo transfer on 02/27. About a week later, we received the news we had been praying for — Catherine was pregnant. After everything we had gone through, it felt like our dream of becoming parents was finally becoming real.

Sadly, on 04/07, we experienced a miscarriage. The emotional pain of losing the pregnancy has been overwhelming, and it has also added more financial strain to an already difficult journey. While this loss has been heartbreaking, it also gave us hope knowing that for a brief moment, our transfer worked and our dream felt within reach.

We are thankful to still have another donor egg available, and we are preparing to try again when we are emotionally and financially ready. As we continue moving forward, we are still raising funds to help cover the ongoing costs of IVF, medications, procedures, and storage expenses that come with another transfer attempt.

We are incredibly grateful for everyone who has supported us, shared our story, donated, or simply kept us in their thoughts and prayers. Your kindness and encouragement mean more to us than words can express and continue to help us move forward with hope.