We saw our baby's heartbeat, then unfortunately the worst happened and at our next scan we saw it fading away. We lost not just our baby, but all the hopes and dreams we'd starting imagining for their future. Our next two IVF tries sadly didn't work, and we were in our fourth round, when overnight, our clinic went insolvent with Emily's eight eggs inside it. Our journey so far... We're Nina and Emily. We met playing rugby in 2015, both insisting we weren't looking for anything serious. Eleven years later, married since 2022, we've built a home we call "Ohana", where family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten. The only thing missing is the child we've been hoping for. We've been trying for more than two years. As a same-sex couple who dream of carrying a pregnancy and having a biological child, fertility treatment is our path to parenthood. We've been through three IVF cycles: a miscarriage after our first transfer, then two transfers that failed. This June, we started our 4th cycle, Emily went through nine days of injections and an egg collection, and eight precious eggs were ready to fertilise. Altogether, we've paid over £33,000 (US$43,732) for our treatment, using every penny of our savings and borrowing the rest. In August, our clinic in Portugal, Ovom Care, went insolvent with no warning, before it had fertilised Emily's 8 eggs. We lost £4,565 (US$6,050) of treatment we'd already paid for, and we're still repaying the borrowing for it. Reading the sudden insolvency email absolutely broke us. After an already heartbreaking journey, we felt deep sadness, loss and a pure, primal pain. The desire to be mothers is in our bones. We feel like mothers without a child. What the funds cover... We call it Project Eight, our own Hail Mary: one last-chance mission to bring Emily's eight eggs home and become mums. A London clinic, Avenues, has offered us greatly reduced prices and free transport of Emily's eggs, but only if we go ahead by December 24, before Emily turns 35. Our plan has two stages: - This November: reciprocal IVF, using Nina's eggs, with Emily carrying. It keeps our treatment moving, and before Emily turns 35. - From January onwards: Emily's eight eggs arrive in London, ready to be fertilised once the import paperwork and logistics is completed. Together this costs £10,450 (US$13,848). Every donation here goes towards this treatment and our dream for a family. Our savings went into the treatment we lost, so we very sadly can't raise the rest by 24 December on our own. What it would mean... It would mean the chance we thought was gone is back. We long for ordinary moments: bedtime stories, making homework fun, muddy boots in the car after Saturday sport. We are so fortunate to have family that love us dearly and friends who call themselves "our village." We are so ready to be a family. If you can give, THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts. If you can't, sharing this page means just as much. You'd be part of Project Eight, and part of our village. With love, Nina and Emily xx