Danica and Vlado from Serbia

I'm Danica, 36, and my partner, Vlado, is 37. Originally from Serbia – I'm from Nis, and Vlado's from Belgrade – we moved to Greece three years ago. We've shared our lives for 15 years, since 2008.

How we discovered the challenge of infertility

Our journey with infertility began back in Serbia. After realizing I wasn't getting pregnant, tests revealed the reason: Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). Our doctor explained that IVF was our most promising path forward.

IVF attempts in the Czech Republic

We tried IVF three times in the Czech Republic. We'd heard wonderful things about a clinic there and went feeling optimistic. You can imagine our deep disappointment when each attempt failed completely. After the third time, we felt defeated, low on hope, and financially strained, so we decided to stop.

A new beginning in Greece

Life brought us to Greece when Vlado landed a great job with a large IT company. Initially, I focused on learning Greek, immersing myself in the language. While watching TV one day, practising my Greek, I saw Dr Thanos Paraschos discussing IVF on a show with Fay Skordas. They were talking about IVF generally and showed a lady who had triplets thanks to the EmBIO clinic.

Discovering the EmBIO Clinic

With Vlado earning a good salary and me finding work as a graphic designer, our financial situation improved significantly. We started considering IVF again, as the desire for children remained strong. I told Vlado about the TV show. We looked up the EmBIO clinic online. Their reported success rates and the doctor's background – including his media appearances and high-profile patients – were certainly impressive.

About three months later, I saw Dr Paraschos on TV again. This time, he spoke about the importance of investigating IVF failures to avoid repeated heartbreak for couples. He emphasized finding the cause quickly so women wouldn't feel like they were gambling with their hopes. On that same program, he even offered a special opportunity for three women facing unexplained, recurrent IVF failure.

New hope

I called the clinic right away to learn more and schedule an appointment. Visiting EmBIO felt welcoming from the start. The clinic was spotless, modern, and seemed very efficiently run.

Dr Thanos Paraschos himself was warm and thorough, asking many questions to understand our history. He had a positive outlook but, crucially, wanted new tests to understand *why* our previous attempts hadn't worked. He stated clearly that trying again without answers made little sense.

His approach gave us renewed confidence, and we decided to proceed. After completing all the tests, Dr Paraschos recommended "tandem IVF" – using both my eggs and donor eggs simultaneously. If my eggs didn't result in strong embryos, we'd have healthy ones from a carefully matched anonymous donor ready. This strategy offered us the best chance of success.

He also suggested innovative PRP treatments to potentially rejuvenate my ovaries and, importantly, thicken my uterine lining, which was quite thin.

A well planned journey to treatment

The plan felt thorough and hopeful, and we agreed to everything. Dr Paraschos helped us believe that this time could be different, allowing us to leave behind the sad memories of past failures.

Treatment started in early 2022. While the embryos from my own eggs didn't progress well, thankfully, the donor eggs resulted in five excellent quality blastocysts (embryos developed for 5 days). We transferred three and froze the remaining two.

The PRP treatment worked wonders; my uterine lining had doubled in thickness, creating the best possible environment for the embryos. Two successfully implanted, and then began the anxious 12-day wait for the pregnancy test.

A happy result: The gift of twins

Waiting those 12 days felt endless. When the results came back positive – twins! – Vlado and I just held each other and cried with relief for what felt like ages. It was like a heavy weight lifting, a thawing of frozen sadness, letting warmth and joy rush back in.

We owe immense gratitude to our doctor, Thanos Paraschos. He guided us from the IVF process right through to the birth, helping us conceive and safely delivering our precious girls, Jana and Milica. He was there for the entire journey.

Sharing our story feels important; we want to offer hope and optimism to other couples facing the struggles of infertility. We have walked in your shoes, felt the grief and pain. Our own hope had nearly faded before Dr Paraschos helped us achieve our dream of a family!

We won't need the two embryos we had frozen, as our family feels complete with our two girls. We'd already decided they could be donated to another couple in need. With all our hearts, we hope they find a loving home and bring another couple the same immense joy we now feel.

Stay strong and keep hope alive in your hearts. Keep your thoughts positive – you never know what wonderful possibilities await.

Danica and Vlado
Serbia