Lesbian couple attempt IVF first

A lesbian is hoping to give birth to a child using an egg from her lover in an attempt to make IVF history.

Hayley Marlow and her partner Vicky Hill want the NHS to help pay for the procedure so they can both play a biological role in the birth of a child.

The egg would be fertilised with donor sperm, then implanted into Miss Marlow, in a procedure which costs an average of ?2,300 a time.

The 29-year-old, who has a fiveyearold daughter from a previous heterosexual relationship, said: 'A lot of lesbians do have children using male friends as sperm donors but we want a baby that has truly come from both of us - and the only way to do that is by me carrying Vicky's baby.

'We hope we will get some of the treatment on the NHS but it is still going to cost a lot of money.'

The couple, from Banbury, Oxfordshire, will marry in a civil ceremony next February. They have discussed their plans with Miss Hill's GP and requested a referral to a fertility unit.

Miss Hill, 22, said: 'Because we will use one of my eggs, the child will biologically be mine and he or she will call me mummy, and Hayley by her Christian name. Being in a gay relationship can be difficult enough and some people are bound to be hostile about it but we don't care about that.'

The couple will need the approval of their local health trust to become the first lesbians to have a baby this way but the Department of Health warned it might not be in line with guidelines.

Support group Pink Parents said: 'Although rare, we are now receiving more requests for information on this type of pregnancy.'