Corio woman Stacey McPherson needs donated egg, sperm and IVF

A Corio woman found out in her mid-20s she had no eggs left due to ovarian failure. Now 33, she is hoping with the help of donors she will still be able to have a baby of her own.

Stacey McPherson has premature ovarian failure and has set up a GoFundMe to pay IVF. Picture: Alison Wynd

                            

Stacey McPherson wants more than anything to be a mum.

But a shock diagnosis eight years ago meant she would never be able to conceive a baby naturally.

So, Ms McPherson is looking at egg and sperm donation to begin the IVF process.

The 33-year-old said her time was ticking and she felt it was “now or never” to try for a baby.

“I got diagnosed with premature ovarian failure,” she said.

“At first I stopped getting my period but it took me four years to go to the doctors because at first I thought ‘this is cool’ and I was enjoying not getting my period.

“Then I thought I better go find out why I wasn’t and that’s when they did an internal ultrasound and found my ovaries were really small and had no eggs.”

Ms McPherson, who lives in Corio, said that was when she found out she would not be able to have a biological child.

Her only option would be a donated egg and the IVF process.

Depending on Medicare, private health and the clinic a person uses, IVF in Australia can cost between $4200 and $12,000 per cycle.

Public fertility care is available to eligible Victorians, but patients may incur out-of-pocket costs for medication, diagnostics, or specialised tests.

There is a shortage of donor eggs and sperm available in Australia and donors cannot be paid.

Ms McPherson said with medical support she hoped she would be able to carry a baby, as her diagnosis did not affect her uterus.

“IVF is not always successful, it can take a few times and it still might not happen so the odds aren’t the best,” she said.

IVF is a process where a human egg is fertilised with sperm in a laboratory before the egg is implanted into a uterus.

Ms McPherson said she also suffers scoliosis and pelvic floor muscle pain daily, which halted her dating life.

“I have been a little anti-social these past few years, especially since I found out I couldn’t conceive because I didn’t want to put that on someone else,” she said.

“So I’m just doing it on my own.”

This means Ms McPherson would also be using donated sperm to have a baby.

“I didn’t want to go through my life with regrets and without at least giving this a go,” she said.

“I don’t want to miss out on having the opportunity to have a baby.

“I help my sister a lot with her children and my heart melts when I look after them so I would love to have my own.”

Ms McPherson has started a GoFundMe page titled “Needing help with IVF egg donor and sperm donor” to help raise money to go through IVF.

“It’s really hard for some people to have a baby, and for people with my condition we don’t choose for our bodies not to work in a normal way,” she said.

“It sucks to have to fork out so much money for something you don’t have any control over.”

The content summaries were created with the assistance of AI technology, then edited and approved for publication by an editor.

Originally published as Corio woman Stacey McPherson needs donated egg, sperm and IVF