Two weeks ago Josefine and Fredrik have got their sweet little daughter at their first egg donation attempt in O.L.G.A. Clinic. To achieve this great success, Josefine has done huge preliminary work: she removed a large fibroid and lost 25kg (and Fredrik 45). Josefine's and Fredrik's huge efforts were rewarded: the very first embryo transfer has resulted in their lovely baby girl Lilou.
Josefine @pjnilsson and Fredrik:
We met late in life, when Josefine was 36 and Fredrik was 43, so we both knew that time was of great essence if we want to start a family. After a couple of months, we decided to start trying for a baby and a whole year went by, but nothing happened. When we finally contacted a fertility clinic in Malmö, Sweden, we got the disappointing news that Josefines AMH (Anti-Müllerin Hormone) was next to non-existing, which means that the egg reserve is very low. Our gynecologist said then and there that we’d probably need to consider alternatives, like egg donation.
To be able to get free medical help with IVF via the state in Sweden, Josefine had to lose weight to get an BMI (Body Mass Index) under 30. The entire spring of 2019, we turned our lives upside down and started eating and living more healthy lives. This gave results and while Josefine lost 25 kg, Fredrik joined and lost 45 kg. In September 2019 we did our first and only IVF at RMC (Reproduktionsmedicinskt centrum) in Malmö. The attempt had to be discontinued since Josefine only had one follicle, which means the clinic didn’t want to do an egg retrieval. We were put in queue for egg donation, but since the queue is long, we were not guaranteed to make it before Josefine turned 40. At the age of 40 you can’t get any financial help with IVF, if you’re a woman.
We had already been in contact with Dr Olga and her amazing team in the spring of 2019, to sort of check out our alternatives. We went to one of Dr. Olga's seminar and met Dr. Olga and Cilla Holm, which was so informative, and we learned more about fertility and fertility treatments that night than we had during our earlier contacts with the IVF world. So, when we were placed in queue for egg donation at our Swedish IVF clinic we decided to contact Dr. Olga and proceed with the help of her team. Even if it meant spending more money, we wanted to reduce time and start our family as soon as possible.
We were offered a guarantee package, including IVF with own eggs and donated eggs. Our first trip to St. Petersburg took place in January 2020. We were met by a beautiful and very cold city, which we both immediately loved. We got one egg, during this IVF with own eggs, which stopped developing at day 5. We were offered another try with Josefines eggs, but we were ready to let go of Josefines genes and move on with egg donation. We believe that you truly have to believe in the process, otherwise it’s no use going through a stimulation and egg retrieval.
We travelled to St. Petersburg again in February 2020 to do a hysteroscopy. It was at this point we got the information that Josefine needed to undergo surgery to remove a big subserosal fibroid, located outside of the uterus. It measured 8,5 x 6 cm in diameter and we called it Steve. Our doctor at O.L.G.A. Fertility Clinic, Dr. Alena, was sure that the fibroid would make it impossible to achieve pregnancy and to keep the pregnancy. The surgery was planned to take place in March 2020 in St. Petersburg but our trip had to be cancelled the same day of our departure, since the coronavirus hit the world and all the boarders closed down one by one. To make sure we didn’t waste time we decided to have the surgery done in Sweden instead. The summer of 2020 Josefine therefore underwent two big surgical procedures and removed the fibroid and the gall bladder.
The rest of the summer was spent recovering and preparing for egg donation. We got wonderful help from the clinic and our coordinator Valeria to choose an egg donor. This was maybe the most surreal step in the process, to look through the clinic's database of egg donors to choose one that matches Josefines looks. In the end we’re so happy with our choice since it feels like a perfect match. We did our first embryo transfer in September 2020, which resulted in our most longed for and much-loved daughter, Lilou. She’s truly the apple of our eyes and we’re so in love with her.
We’re so glad that we chose O.L.G.A. Fertility Clinic. The service and help that the clinic has provided has been first class and we’ve always felt extremely looked after. Except being professional and very competent, everybody at the clinic has treated us with warmth and consideration, which means so much when you’re in the dire situation to undergo fertility treatment. Dr. Olga and her amazing team helped two miserable people and turned us into a loving family of three, and for this we’ll always be thankful.
Josefine, Fredrik and Lilou
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