IVF for Mandy and Edd

Hello, this is difficult to write as I don't know where to start. I had never in a million years considered setting up a GoFundMe, but after several people recommended it, here we are. We have also kept our journey very private until now, so it's daunting to speak about in such an open forum.

Myself (Mandy) and Edd have been trying to conceive for six years. Due to issues with my Crohns Disease and other problems, our dreams of parenthood shattered when we were told in the summer of 2017, after numerous tests, that we would likely never conceive naturally. IVF would be our only option.

We then had to wait over a year to start our first and only eligible cycle of IVF on the NHS, as I needed surgery before we could proceed. This attempt was unfortunately unsuccessful, which completely deflated us.

Over the years, we have undergone IVF three times, and lost three little embryos and a set of twins. The feeling of this loss is incomprehensible, but we feel we still have some fight left in us to keep going. Especially as studies have shown that the overall chances of conceiving are higher after three rounds.

As most people know, having to privately fund IVF is extremely expensive. We have eaten through all of our savings to get to where we are now. With our biological clocks ticking, we knew we wanted to try one more time. We previously self funded at a reputable clinic in Greece, where the cost is near half of that in the UK. The doctors and staff there are amazing and as they know our history and medical records well, we want to stick with them for this attempt.

Due to my age, the doctor has recommended two sets of egg collections to create the best possible grade of embryo, spaced over three months. The doctor wants us to aim for treatment in early September, before I turn 41, so that's also our fundraising aim.

The cost of the treatment is £5,000. This doesn't include the costs of medication, flights, hotels, transport, etc, which we will fund ourselves. The cost of living crisis this year has meant that our savings haven't accumulated as fast as we had previously hoped, and with our biological time running out, we've resorted to GoFundMe in a moment of desperation to help us achieve our dream.

I know that everyone is struggling right now, so I'm really not expecting anyone to donate too much. As mentioned earlier, we didn't expect or think to set up this page, so any little donation would be so greatly appreciated, no matter how small.

I appreciate it if you've read this far, and thank you so much for your support.