International model, Mbali Lechler, launches South Africa’s newest egg donor programme

5-May-2011

International model, Mbali Lechler, has launched South Africa’s newest egg donor programme, FertilityCareSA, which is focused on providing a nurturing yet informative environment for women around the world who are seeking an IVF treatment with an egg donor.

Creating a small personalised team of experts has allowed Managing Director Mbali Lechler to get to know her egg donors personally and provides an online support system for recipients prior to their landing in South Africa, and face-to-face meeting upon arrival.

Counselling psychologist Vicky Fabricius is available to talk to potential expectant mothers in a confidential and relaxed space. Many women experience complex emotions during the IVF process and Vicky’s support can be helpful in understanding and dealing with them. It can be difficult to speak to family and friends about these experiences and can lead to isolation, which can add to an already very stressful time.

Elienne Horwitz is a nutritionist who has written several articles for magazines such as Shape, Fairlady, Cosmopolitan, You, Longevity and Men’s Health, as well as many daily publications. Since failing to fall pregnant may sometimes be attributed to a vitamin and mineral deficiency, Elienne can tailor-make a programme to ensure nutrient levels are brought to an optimum level.

Mbali herself knows only too well the frustration that comes with infertility. Although she was able to conceive naturally, giving a birth to a beautiful son in 2002, she struggled to continue to build her family. Several IVF treatments and vigorous fertility tests to determine the cause of her infertility proved fruitless and Mbali was diagnosed infertile without explanation. Unfortunately, the stress associated with infertility was too much for her marriage to survive.

She has since happily remarried but that struggle has stayed with her, and inspired her to help other couples in their dream of building their own family.

“I’ve poured my heart into FertilityCareSA – after my own family this programme means everything to me”, Mbali said.

While undergoing her IVF cycles, Mbali met many wonderful women who where even in a more desperate situation than she was, as they couldn’t produce their own eggs. As she was running a recruitment agency and working as model, she met many inspiring young women who wanted to help by becoming egg donors. With her experiences and the contacts she had made, Mbali become a founding member of one of the very first South African egg donor agencies.

FertilityCareSA works with only the very best, accredited institutions in Africa who are registered with their specialist associations and adhere to those professional codes of conduct. All medical specialist partners are pioneers in the fertility industry and internationally recognised.