“After three cycles without a single healthy embryo, with them we got five—and now we’re going for our third child!”

Our first contact with assisted reproduction techniques came very early. I was 30 years old, and we decided it was time to grow our family. However, we had a major obstacle. We knew that my husband is a carrier of a genetic translocation, associated with “cri du chat syndrome,” a condition that predisposes to frequent miscarriages and, even worse, a disorder that can lead to up to 98% disability. For that reason, trying to conceive naturally was not a good option for us, so we decided to go all in and start an IVF treatment to become parents.

As we began to gather information, we realized that, despite pursuing IVF, our case would be complicated. Specialists told us that we had only a 17% chance of success—we simply couldn’t believe it. Although this news discouraged us, we were certain that we were not going to give up so easily. We underwent three cycles at a public centre without achieving a single healthy embryo. Given these results, we were repeatedly told that the most advisable option in our case would be sperm donation.

Willing to use our last chance, we went to Juana on the recommendation of a friend who had also had a very difficult journey but succeeded with her team. Without much hope, we booked a first consultation simply to ask for advice and hear her opinion. At that point, we felt exhausted and ready to give up, already somewhat defeated and facing the reality of our situation.

What happened at that first visit was something we never expected. After reviewing my case, Juana completely turned things around, and after so many disappointments, we began to feel hopeful again.

Since our challenge was genetic and, at first, I had no gynaecological issues (I had not yet had any transfers), she proposed obtaining a large sample of eggs to challenge the genetic odds.

And that is exactly what happened. I left the consultation with tears in my eyes when Juana promised me at least one healthy embryo. She was the light I needed at that moment—my light of hope on this journey.

The stimulation was intense, but I felt perfectly fine, just as she had predicted, and we achieved the goal we had set: 31 eggs were retrieved, 27 were fertilized, by day five 17 remained and underwent genetic testing, resulting in 5 healthy embryos and 1 mosaic embryo. I couldn’t believe it! The next steps went smoothly. Now we are in the process of trying for our third child, and when we look back, we can hardly believe it. Without a doubt, our greatest dream has become a reality thanks to this team that made the impossible possible.