A couple who have spent seven years trying for a baby, spending £35,000 on IVF treatment, have been told that egg donation could be their last chance for a family.

The couple, who have chosen to stay anonymous, have gone through seven bouts of IVF after the husband was told he had a low sperm count. In April, the wife became pregnant, but miscarried a month later.

Now the couple are turning to the community for a suitable egg donor.

The wife said: "When we started trying I was 35, but I'm 42 now, and we have less than 12 per cent chance of my eggs implanting. But with egg donation, it would be more like 60 per cent.

"If I carry the child, and I raise the baby, then when we're playing together, eating ice cream, having birthday parties, it won't matter to me that the egg came from someone else. My rabbi suggested reaching out to the community. It's a mitzvah, and creating a Jewish family is so important, I'm just hoping someone can help us do it."

She added: "We would prefer a Jewish donor, ideally. We will be raising the child Jewish no matter what, but I would love to know the mother was Jewish. The most important thing is a healthy, happy baby."

She added: "In April when I found out I was pregnant, the joy was indescribable. But I miscarried. In a way, though, it gave me hope. I know now that I can get pregnant."

The couple have still not given up hope. "I have to stay positive. Even if this doesn't work, we'll try one more time. We've also talked about adoption, but we really want to have a baby. I'm still very hopeful that we can find someone."

The couple are being helped by egg donation charity Altrui, run by Alison Bagshawe.

She said: "The ideal person is fit and healthy, between 18 and 35. Removing the eggs takes around 20 minutes. You can't be paid for the donation. It has to be the right, altruistic person, someone really, really special."

www.altrui.co.uk 01969 667875