Campaign Story

My name is Loren, and I have diminished ovarian reserve (DOR). Diminished ovarian reserve is the loss of normal reproductive potential in the ovaries due to a lower count or quality of the remaining eggs.Women diagnosed with diminished ovarian reserve have the same reduced success of conceiving with in vitro fertilization (IVF) as they do with natural efforts to conceive. In addition, women with DOR often have a greater risk of miscarriage when conceiving via IVF with their own eggs due to lower egg quality.

My husband and I have been together for 20 years. Happily married for 15 years (or as happily as we can be as a Childless Family). We meet in college; he was 21 going on 22, and I was 18 years old. We had a romantic and adventurous courtship, often traveling (we LOVE to travel and see the world, France, Spain, Portugal, Mexico, Costa Rica and so many other countries) and enjoying outings with friends and family.

We decided to start growing our family when I was 28. We were unsuccessful but were told by many, including doctors not to worry and just keep trying because I was still very young to be concerned. Life , but mostly denial and medical coverage concerns, kept me from seeking the right help (Assistive Reproductive Technology/ART). Finally, at 32 years of age, I meet with our wonderful ART Doctor and was diagnosed with DOR. We were so hopeful but unfortunately had several failed IUIs and 3 unsuccessful IVFs. Many of our IVFs didn’t produce any viable embryos. Our last IVF, in 2019, finally produced 1 embryo and we were so ecstatic, but after the dreadful two week wait, we were not pregnant.

Following that disappointment, we decided to hold off for a few more months to try again, to allow for healing, both emotionally and financially. But then 2020 brought forth the pandemic and as civil servants (I am a police officer and my husband is a train Operator) we were working long hours, often times not seeing each other for days. Then time just went by!

This year, we celebrated our 20th Anniversary and have decided to try one more time at achieving our dream of becoming parents! Unfortunately due to my condition, we have been advised against using my own eggs and using donor egg instead, which our insurance doesn’t cover.

I am asking you to help us on in this new and unpredictable path. We are seeking assistance with the financial burden of using donor egg. Even $1 would mean the world to us and help us with growing our family!