An Aberdeenshire couple will today (July 28) hand over their second donation to the Aberdeen Fertility Centre to thank staff for helping them conceive the children they feared they might never have.
Diane and John Buchan turned to the University of Aberdeen clinic after endometriosis – a painful condition which affects around two million women in the UK – left Diane with fertility problems.
After undergoing IVF the St Fergus couple are now the proud parents of two-year-old Carmen and nine-month old John.
Today the family will return to the Fertility Centre to hand over a cheque for £6,708 which they raised by holding their second Miracle Ball – a fundraising dinner-dance and auction held just outside Peterhead.
The couple’s first Miracle Ball raised almost £11,400 for the Centre and helped pay for new equipment.
Twenty-eight-year-old Diane said: “If we gave a million pounds it wouldn’t be enough for what the Aberdeen Fertility Centre has given us. We just can’t thank them enough for our kids who are just our life.
“But as well as fundraising we want to raise awareness to fertility issues because a lot of people still don’t talk about fertility problems and IVF.
“When you get married everyone wants to know when you’ll have kids but if you can’t have kids some people don’t feel happy talking about it.
“I was 25 when I started on IVF and I felt quite alone and also quite young to be having fertility treatment. But once we started speaking about it I was so surprised by how many other people then said they had also undergone IVF.
“We just can’t thank the Aberdeen Fertility Centre enough for helping us have the children we so dearly wanted.”
John (35), a fisherman, added: “We will be forever in their debt after all they have done for us and we are planning an event again for next year to keep helping the clinic with their ‘miracle work.’
“Diane and I would also like to thank everyone who made our Miracle Ball such a success, from those who donated money and prizes, to those who attended and helped raise the fantastic total.”
Alison McTavish, Nurse Manager at the Aberdeen Fertility Centre which is part of the University’s Obstetrics and Gynaecology department, added: “We are absolutely thrilled that Diane and John have once again shown such generous support for the Aberdeen Fertility Centre.
“The money raised will be used to buy an incubator for the Embryology laboratory. We are very grateful to Diane and John for raising the money and awareness of the treatment that is available for couples within Aberdeen.
“The Unit provides over 500 IVF cycles each year and also provides treatment using donor eggs and donor sperm which requires donors to come forward. The Unit provides both self funded and NHS funded cycles and patients wishing to self-fund their IVF treatment can be seen within four weeks.”
For further information regarding treatment please contact a.r.mctavish@abdn.ac.ukor for information about sperm or egg donation contact donation@abdn.ac.uk