What a Difference a Day Makes: Michelle MacMullan shares the day of her embryo transfer

Michelle MacMullan tells Helen O’Callaghan about the day of embryo transfer during her IVF procedure – and the difficulty of just not knowing whether it is all going to end in happiness or heartbreak.

Michelle MacMullan. Photograph: Moya Nolan

My 24-hour moment was the day of my embryo transfer during my last round of IVF: July 4, 2023, a Tuesday.

My husband, Michael, and I had been through every other option to have children biologically: I’d become pregnant naturally and lost the baby; I’d gone on ovulation boosters, hormone injections, tablets, and a separate round of IVF. This was finally IVF with a donor egg, our last-straw, make-or-break attempt.