Jeff and Cathrine's Path to Parenthood through Surrogacy

Hello everyone,

We are Jeff and Cathrine Pavao. We are reaching out to you with hopeful hearts as we embark on our journey towards parenthood through Gestational Surrogacy.

We have been together since 2012 and got married on March 26, 2016. Our dream of starting a family has faced unexpected challenges due to fertility issues. Two years after trying naturally with no luck, Cathrine bravely decided to call a Fertility Clinic. We met wonderful doctors who helped and guided us through all the testing and procedures that we must do.

First, we did several IUI's (intrauterine insemination), which “is a procedure that increases the chance of pregnancy by getting a healthy sperm close to an egg.”

Dec 29,2018 = IUI failed

Jan 29 & 30, 2019 = back-to-back IUI also failed

March 4, 2019 = IUI failed again

After the failed IUI’s our next step was IVF (invitro fertilization). First, Cathrine had to do a procedure that involves retrieving eggs from her ovary (Egg retrieval). The doctors retrieved more than 70 eggs. Around 20 of those eggs were mature, but only 8 eggs were successfully fertilized. Cathrine got severe OHSS (ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome) from the procedure. This is when fluid builds up in the ovaries and they become enlarged. We couldn’t do a embryo transfer right away because she was in tremendous pain. We had to have the embryos frozen until she was physically ready to continue.

Our first embryo transfer happened in Sep 2020, and we finally got our first positive pregnancy test.

We were so happy and we both cried. Finally, our dream of becoming parents is happening. Cathrine had a wonderful pregnancy with no morning sickness and cravings. Everything was perfect until she started feeling some cramps and started bleeding on January 14, 2021. She was rushed to the hospital and unfortunately delivered our baby at 18 weeks due to a placental abruption. We were heartbroken. It was the most painful thing we ever had to go through.

Cathrine continued to have some bleeding for about 3 months after her miscarriage. She went back to her OBGYN to get it checked out and found that there was some placenta tissue left in her uterus. She had to get a D&C procedure done immediately to remove the tissue.

Our dream did not stop there. We decided to try IVF again few months later. Which unfortunately resulted in another miscarriage at 6 weeks. We did some additional testing, biopsies and more bloodwork. We never stopped trying, taking longer breaks in between each IVF procedure, but still had another miscarriage.

Sept, 2020. = Frozen transfer (miscarried at 18 weeks)

July, 2020 = Frozen transfer (miscarried at 6 weeks)

June 2022 = Failed embryo transfer

Nov 2022 = Failed embryo transfer

Apr 2024= Frozen transfer (miscarried at 9 weeks)

The doctor suspects that her uterus might have been damaged during the D&C. At this point we decided to stop. We only have two frozen embryos left. We are afraid that if we keep going, we may end up losing our embryos or perhaps have another miscarriage.

After much soul-searching and careful consideration, we have taken the courageous step of getting a Gestational Carrier.

Finding an agency and a Gestational Carrier is not just a medical and legal process; it also comes with significant financial burdens. The costs include medical procedures, legal fees, surrogate compensation, and other associated expenses. While we have been saving diligently, the financial aspect of surrogacy is way beyond our means alone.

Breakdown cost:

• Agency: 30-40k

• Gestational Carrier 50-60k

• Health insurance policy (if required) $6k-30k

• Additional Expected cost up to $30k or more

Your support whether it is through a donation or just by sharing our story with your friends and family would mean the world to us. Every contribution, no matter how small, will bring us closer to achieving our dream of becoming parents.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for considering supporting our surrogacy journey. Your kindness and generosity gives us strength and renewed hope during this challenging time in our lives.

With gratitude and hope,

Jeff and Cathrine Pavao

PS.

Any extra donations collected beyond our goal will be donated to other couples who are also having the same issues.