Stem cell patient welcomes baby girl

Louise Willets and her husband Steve welcomed their daughter, Joy, earlier this year, following treatment at Jessop Fertility, which came after Louise received life-changing stem cell treatment, which prevented her from needing a wheelchair.

Louise, of Dinnington, suffered from an aggressive form of MS, and was offered the stem cell transplant at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, to give her immune system a reboot, halting the disease using chemotherapy.

“The MS team explained to me that while this treatment had the potential to drastically improve my quality of my life, it did pose a risk to fertility, and so I was given the option of IVF at the Trust’s assisted conception unit,” said Louise, aged 36.

“We were overjoyed to discover my stem cell treatment had worked and I was symptom free. However we also discovered that my fertility had indeed been damaged and so we nervously decided to proceed with embryo implantation. Thankfully, our dreams came true in the form of our gorgeous little girl, Joy, who was born in February.

“The staff at Jessop Fertility were excellent, they listened to our concerns and reassured us at every stage. Treatment can be an emotional rollercoaster, but it is absolutely worth it. I never believed it could happen, but miracles do come true.”

Rachel Cutting, principal embryologist at Jessop Fertility, said: “We are all so delighted for Louise and Steve. Being able to freeze embryos for patients facing medical treatment which can affect their fertility means hope for the future.”