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SAN DIEGO — Friday marks World IVF Day, a moment to celebrate the breakthroughs in in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and the growing number of families made possible through this life-changing technology.
For Shannon Taylor, the journey to motherhood started with heartbreak, but ended with a family of five.
She was diagnosed as infertile 14 years ago, but today, she’s a proud mom of three.
Her oldest child, 13-year-old Candice, was conceived during a vitrification study at Reproductive Partners Fertility Clinic. Shannon had undergone IVF and frozen her eggs as part of the study.
“This is our first frozen egg that was born in San Diego County,” she said. “She had already been thawed as an egg, then fertilized, and fortunately, it was successful.”
Her second daughter, Jovie, was also born through IVF. Shannon’s third IVF attempt ended in a miscarriage. But six months later, the unexpected happened.
“I got a bonus child,” she said. “For the first time in 10 years, we conceived naturally. He was our surprise baby.”
Her youngest, Rhett, is now six years old.
“We ended up having our full family that we set out for,” Shannon said. “It’s been quite a journey.”
While her experience brought joy, it wasn’t an easy process.
“The thought of having to come in for all these doctor’s appointments, having to come in and get my blood drawn all the time, having to have ultrasounds done all the time, it’s very personal,” She said.
Still, Shannon’s participation in early IVF studies helped advance fertility science.
“Thanks to her, OSI freeze has advanced a lot, and that’s helped prolong women’s fertility windows,” Dr. Wei Zhang, senior embryologist at Reproductive Partners Fertility Clinic said.
Dr. Zhang said egg freezing is a powerful option for many patients, especially those who want to delay starting a family or use donor eggs.
“For a lot of patients, they can buy several frozen donor eggs and still achieve a successful pregnancy,” she explained.
IVF continues to evolve in other ways, according to Dr. Jamie Stanhiser, a reproductive endocrinologist and infertility specialist.
Improvements in embryo culture, genetic screening and really personalized fertility treatment to improve success rates and reduce risks for patients,” Dr. Stanhiser said.
Starting in January 2026, most insurance plans in California will be required to cover infertility diagnosis and IVF treatment, a move doctors hope will remove financial barriers for many families.
“We’re tremendously excited for that, because we really want this to be available to everyone, regardless of your socioeconomic status,” Dr. Stanhiser said.
For Shannon, the journey was long but worth it.
“I just felt like I had crossed the finish line, that I finally made it,” Shannon said. “After all the stress and the sadness and the hard work and the emotional toil it took on not only me, but on my husband too.”
On this World IVF Day, she shared her story in hopes of inspiring others.