In a historic moment for Europe, a Spanish lesbian couple has achieved a groundbreaking milestone by becoming the first on the continent to jointly carry and give birth to their baby.
On Monday, October 30, at the Hospital Juaneda Miramar de Mallorca, the couple welcomed Derek into the world, weighing a healthy 3.3kg.
Azahara, 27, and Estefania, 30, collaborated with doctors Gustavo Carti and Miriam Mateos from Juaneda Fertility to bring their dream of parenthood to life. The revolutionary technique they employed is known as INVOcell, or ‘reciprocal effortless IVF,’ marking a significant advancement in assisted reproductive technology.
The process initiates like traditional IVF, involving egg production and retrieval from both mothers. Subsequently, the harvested egg is combined with donor sperm. The unique aspect of INVOcell unfolds as the fertilized egg is transferred to a specialized device, the ‘invocell,’ placed inside one of the mother’s bodies below the cervix for optimal fertilization.
The resulting embryos are carefully preserved through freezing until the second mother is prepared to carry the baby. This involves hormone injections to ensure a conducive environment for the embryo to develop into a healthy fetus.
In this extraordinary journey for Azahara and Estefania, the process commenced in March of this year, with Estefania hosting the initial stages of egg fertilization. Then, Azahara carried Derek for the subsequent nine months, culminating in the joyous moment of giving birth.
Speaking about their unique experience, the couple expressed their gratitude, “Thanks to this technique, we can say we both carried our baby. That is really special.”
This achievement echoes a similar milestone in 2018 when the INVOcell technique allowed a lesbian couple in Texas, Bliss and Ashleigh Coulter, to jointly carry their son, Stetson. As society continues to witness remarkable strides in reproductive technologies, the such stories stand as a testament to the evolving landscape of family-building possibilities.
