IVF, in vitro fertilisation, can be extremely expensive for those unable to receive help from the NHS.
Danielle Bartley-Mould, 41, and husband Antony Mould, 61, completed their dream family when twins Ava and Frankie joined their family two years ago after two rounds of IVF treatment.
The medical procedure, in which an egg is fertilised by sperm in a test tube or elsewhere outside the body, ended up costing the couple £18,000 because they weren’t eligible for NHS help.
Now the landlords have decided to help someone else try for a child by offering up £5,000 to a family who will be chosen at random.
‘So many people want a family and can’t afford [IVF],’ Danielle, from Harrogate, North Yorkshire, who has been a foster mum to 28 children, said.
‘We know how hard it is. It’s a desperate situation and some people even re-mortgage their houses to pay for IVF, sometimes up to eleven times.
‘It shouldn’t be like that, but the NHS doesn’t have the resources.
‘We are lucky. We have kids, and our IVF worked, so we didn’t go without, and our journey wasn’t too long.
‘I just want to help someone else have a chance to experience the joy we have.’
Antony and Danielle got together in early 2017 and started trying for a baby a year later.
However, after six months, they realised they needed help to conceive after investigations revealed Danielle’s fallopian tubes had been harmed in a life-threatening car accident she had been in seven years ago, in which she also suffered breaks to her back and neck.
The couple paid around £18,000 for their treatment, which included flights to Cyprus for their first attempt.
They were unable to receive help from the NHS because both Danielle and Antony have sons from previous relationships.
Their first round of IVF in October 2018 was unsuccessful, but a second attempt in December that year worked, and the twins were born via C-section, six weeks premature, on November 22, 2019.
Danielle’s son from a previous relationship, Ethan, now 14, helped out with his new siblings as the mum lost her right arm to sepsis while recovering from the accident.
‘There are loads of reasons why people can’t get treatment on the NHS,’ Danielle said. ‘I just want to help. It’s a lot of money to give, but we’ve thought about it for a year.
‘My accident really changed my perspective. I look at pictures of the car and am grateful I came out of that.
‘I count myself as extremely lucky – who would think I’d still be here to talk about it, let alone still have the most amazing opportunity to watch my children grow.
‘Some parents just can’t afford a family, and it shouldn’t be like that. It would be amazing to help somebody.’
Danielle and Antony are also hoping to raise money for the children’s charity, Make A Wish, which grants wishes for terminally ill children.
People can donate via their JustGiving page, and everybody who donates will be entered into a competition that has been funded solely by the couple.
The winner will receive £5,000 to pay for or go towards their IVF/fertility treatment.
People will be entered into the competition when they donate, and each name will be entered once for every pound they donate to the charity.
The beneficiary of Danielle and Antony’s gift can be from anywhere in the world, and the couple will pay the money to any clinic that offers IVF.
Danielle will put the names into a generator on her birthday, October 29, and will send the money to the clinic of the winner’s choice.
The winner will be announced live at 2 pm on Danielle’s Facebook page, Creating Dreams Making Memories.
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