Academic couple hoping for a baby
We’re a cosmopolitan and multilingual academic couple. Kristin is half Chinese/half white and grew up in San Francisco. Grigory is ethnically Russian and grew up in Moscow. We’ve been together for 7 years and originally met when we were both PhD students in anthropology. After a long struggle with infertility, we are pursuing embryo donation with the hopes of building a family!
- Snapshot of my life and family:
We are two academics currently living in the south. We moved here in 2019 (when Kristin got a job as a professor!) and although we're both from major cities we've really been enjoying small town life. Because we're located in a college town, we've been able to build a diverse and progressive community of friends and colleagues who have greatly enriched our lives here.
During the school year, we are fairly busy teaching and doing research, but we also have a lot of side activities. Kristin does tai chi, yoga, and Argentine tango. Grigory practices Brazilian jiu jitsu multiple times a week. We both really enjoy cooking and trying new recipes/ingredients. Since moving here, we've also become active gardeners, first as members of a wonderful community garden and now in our back patio.
Because we're academics, we have the summers off, which allows us to travel. We're both avid travelers and language learners. Since we've been together, we've taken trips to Albania, France, Italy, and Spain (as well as a road trip from Mississippi to California!). We also spent nine months in Morocco, because Kristin was awarded a Fulbright to do research there. Kristin speaks fluent French and Arabic, and knows a bit of Spanish and Russian. Grigory is a native Russian speaker who (in addition to English) speaks fluent French, as well as some Italian and German.
We are both very close to our families, even though they are very different and very far apart! Kristin grew up in the Bay Area amongst an enormous Chinese-American family. This extended family is a core part of who she is and she is looking forward to sharing that with her future child(ren). Grigory's family is currently spread across multiple countries (yet another unfortunate consequence of Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine). Although his parents are still in Moscow, his younger brother moved to Georgia and the rest of his extended family is spread across Turkey, Germany, and the Netherlands. Despite these obstacles, they are all still very close and we intend to raise our child as a bilingual English-Russian speaker.
- Fertility story:
We've been struggling with infertility for several years. Last year, we decided to do a round of IVF while we were living in Morocco (Kristin was awarded a Fulbright to do research there). IVF is highly affordable in Morocco and we were elated when the first transfer resulted in a pregnancy, but Kristin miscarried before the end of the first trimester. She went back to Morocco earlier this year to transfer our last embryo, but it failed. Our doctors here and in Morocco are of the opinion that both outcomes were the result of poor quality eggs ; not her ability to carry a baby. After taking some time to heal, we decided last month to get a consultation with an IVF clinic in nearby Memphis. The doctor basically told us that given Kristin's age, there is a low chance that another round of IVF using her own eggs will be successful. So we’re now pursuing embryo donation. This also seems like the only viable option for having more than one child; ideally, we would love to have two.
- Infertility diagnosis or N/A:
Unexplained infertility
- Do you have any children? (If so please explain) No
- Marital status: Married
- My Information:
- I Am: Female
- My Age: 36 - 40
- My Race: Mixed
- My Eye Color: Brown
- My Hair Color: Black
- My Education/employment info: Professor
- Partner Information: (Or N/A)
- My Partner Is: Male
- Partner Age or N/A: 31 - 35
- Patner Race or N/A: Caucasian
- Partner Eye Color or N/A: Blue
- Partner Hair Color: Light Brown
- Partner education/employment info or N/A: Adjunct instructor (currently completing PhD)
- INFORMATION ABOUT THE EMBRYO(S) - If you are a RECIPIENT choose N/A.:
- Was an egg donor used or N/A? N/A
- Was sperm donor used or N/A? N/A
- How many embryos do you have available to donate? N/A - I am a Recipient
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