A last try at having the baby we long for

Barry Nelson went to meet a client who doesn't know when to give up.

DEANNE Jenkyns must surely be a contender for a very unenviable record. After five unsuccessful cycles of fertility treatment at the private Cromwell IVF and Fertility Centre, and two ectopic pregnancies, the 35-year-old from South Shields would be forgiven for giving up.

But sitting in the sleek surroundings of the new Cromwell unit at Darlington's Woodlands private hospital, a steely determination comes into Deanne's eyes when she talks about trying one last time to have the child she longs for.

"After the fourth treatment cycle we said it would be the last, but we tried again," says Deanne, who has twice endured the agony of suffering miscarriages after becoming pregnant through IVF.

After the fifth cycle failed, Deanne and her husband Jimmy, 50, refused to be beaten and decided to try one last time.

"This is it, this is our last cycle. Obviously I desperately want it to work this time, but it seems that it is a lottery. It's down to luck in the end," says Deanne, who was one of the visitors to a special open day at the new unit, which recently moved from Washington to Darlington.

Remarkably, Deanne says she gains strength in the thought that she could be helping other infertile couples every time she undergoes a cycle of IVF treatment. She has even set up her own website for infertile women and this summer will meet up with couples from all over the country who have been trying to have a baby for years. "I'm even in touch with women in Canada," she says.

While her main problem has been staying pregnant for long enough to produce a healthy baby, there is nothing wrong with Deanne's ability to produce healthy fertile eggs. And it's because of this that she has been an invaluable part of the Cromwell unit's pioneering egg-sharing service for couples undergoing IVF. Deanne is one of the most prolific contributers of fertilised eggs since the scheme got underway in the region in 1990.

The scheme provides a heavily-discounted route into more affordable private fertility treatment for healthy couples who are willing to donate half the fertilised eggs produced by drug treatment.

Deanne counts back through the numerous IVF treatment cycles and work out that she must have donated around 30 fertilised eggs to other women in the region.

"Somebody asked me how I coped with the fact that my own biological child might pass me in the street without me knowing it," says Deanne.

"Of course, I have thought about that but my hope is that it does work for other women. If I can help someone else achieve what I want for myself I will be very happy for them," she says.

While Deanne managed to have one healthy daughter from a previous relationship when she was only 19, her subsequent experience with pregnancy has been a disaster area.

"I had an ectopic pregnancy when I was 24. The baby wasn't planned and I had an IUD fitted at the time," recalls Deanne.

A combination of an infection and the abnormal pregnancy caused so much damage to her fallopian tubes that doctors said her chances of conceiving again were practically zero. "There I was, at 26 or 27, really wanting to have a baby but more or less resigned to the fact that I wasn't going to have one," says Deanne.

Then, three years ago, she found out that, against all the odds, she was pregnant naturally. "It was a total shock. I was so happy but I ended up losing that pregnancy," she says.

After recovering from their loss and taking stock, Deanne and Jimmy, who runs his own cleaning business in South Shields, decided to ask about fertility treatment at South Tyneside District Hospital. "A consultant said our best option would be to have IVF. I knew a friend who had had fertility treatment at Washington and she mentioned egg-sharing."

That was the first the couple had heard of this approach to fertility treatment. "It really appealed to us, apart from being affordable, it is a good way to help others. If it wasn't for people donating eggs, many women would never experience the joys of being parents. I think it's a very good way to do it," says Deanne.

Couples who qualify for the egg-sharing scheme pay around £150 per treatment cycle, a fraction of the true cost of up to £3,000.

As part of the agreement, women who produce sufficient quantities of fertilised eggs donate half for implantation into other women undergoing fertility treatment.

Dr Kamal Ahuja, scientific and medical director of the Cromwell IVF group, which includes centres in London and South Wales, believes the egg-sharing option makes the unit very attractive to people who would otherwise not be able to afford IVF treatment.

Apart from people from the North-East and North Yorkshire, Dr Ahuja is expecting to see couples from London taking advantage of the clinic's close proximity to Teesside Airport.

This week, staff at the Cromwell centre carried out their first fertility procedures since the new site became fully licensed. Two full-time Cromwell consultants will staff the unit, assisted by five NHS consultants who have chosen to do their private work at the Woodlands hospital. The specialists are supported by a nine-strong team, including nurses and administrative staff.

Since the Cromwell unit opened in 1990, nearly 700 babies have been born as a result of fertility treatment. Dr Ahuja hopes the centre will treat around a thousand couples a year, providing heavily discounted treatment to around 120 couples who agree to take part in egg-sharing.

Deanne is now an old hand at this approach. Remarkably, this cycle will be the Tyneside housewife's sixth attempt at infertility treatment at the Cromwell unit.

But she is grateful that an egg-sharing centre is so close to home. "Egg-sharing is not available everywhere, I have talked to people in other parts of the country who have had to wait for years for treatment on the NHS or remortgage their homes to pay for private treatment," says Deanne. "One woman even had to go to Spain to get fertilised eggs," she adds.

Husband Jimmy, who has two children from a previous marriage, is equally keen on egg-sharing, clearly proud that his wife is helping others while she tries for a child.

"She has been through a lot but it helps her to know she has helped others," he says. "We have just got to keep our fingers crossed now."

* Deanne's website can be accessed by visiting www.may-b-baby.co.uk