You’ve made the decision to donate your eggs, you’ve met your doctor, and now it’s time for the next step: an introduction to Ovatures Nurse Coordinator, Kelly Hill.
Hill, who has been on the Ovatures team for nearly five years, but in reproductive medicine for nearly a decade, has had a passion for helping people since she was a young girl. When she was in high school in New Jersey, for example, her drive to help others led her to volunteer as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) at her local fire station, to which she still dedicates her time. (Her other responsibilities have four paws: she has two dogs, Bella and Bandit, and a sugar glider named Bailey.)
Coming from a family of nurses, Hill decided to pursue women’s health, and, as an Ovatures nurse coordinator, works with patients – both egg donors and recipients – to manage their In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) cycles.
From overseeing cycles, to reviewing results with doctors, to providing medication instructions to patients, Hill offers clinical and emotional support to the women under her care, ensuring no question goes unanswered and every patient feels heard.
“I’ve always been drawn to reproductive medicine,” Hill said, and “I love what I do.”
One of Hill’s most memorable moments with Ovatures involved working with a recipient who struggled to carry a pregnancy.
“She had an incredibly traumatic past and wanted desperately to begin a new chapter in her life with a son or daughter,” Hill said.
With the help of an Ovatures egg donor, the patient had a good number of embryos, and got pregnant on her first transfer. On the day of discharge, however, doctors realized the patient had lost the pregnancy. She went on to have three more transfers, all of which failed.
“Every time I had to make those calls to her with negative results I was heartbroken,” Hill said. “I can’t even image how she felt.”
“Finally, she was pregnant again on her fifth cycle and was discharged successfully. She is doing well and I can’t wait for the day that I get the phone call or email that she delivered!”
Hill wants women who choose to use an egg donor to know that they are not alone.
“There are so many patients utilizing this option every day,” she said, “and the numbers are only growing higher.”
Not only can future patients take comfort in the fact that egg donation and donor egg use are more common than in the past, but they’ll be able to rest easy knowing they are in the care of Hill, who’s always looking out for their best interests.
“Working with egg donors and egg recipients is so fulfilling,” she said. “I really care.”