Simone Lambley and Thomas Elliston share their story of infertility

She learnt that she was infertile.

After routine testing, she was diagnosed with Primary Ovarian Insufficiency - otherwise known as early onset menopause.

The news came as a massive shock to Ms Lambley, who initially attended an appointment for prenatal blood testing, as she was planning to start a family with her fiance Thomas Elliston.

"They tested all of my hormone levels, and they came back menopausal," Ms Lambley said.

"So I was in menopause at 25."

And, not only did the GP perform routine blood tests, they also tested Ms Lambley's egg count, and her ovarian reserve - the capacity for her ovaries to produce viable eggs in the future.

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"They came back significantly low," she said.

Following these results, Ms Lambley was instructed to repeat the testing six weeks after the initial blood work.

"So then I went and had the blood tests again and they actually came back worse, so I was further into menopause," she said.

This was when reality set in for Ms Lambley, who had to accept that her dream of becoming a mother through natural conception would not become a reality.

"My initial reaction was, how am I going to be a mum? I just thought that I'm not going to be able to be a mum, that's impossible, with me being in menopause," she said.

And, becoming a mother was the one thing that Ms Lambley was sure that she wanted to achieve.

"Always," she said.

"I always knew I that I would have kids."

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Following her initial reaction, and knowing that she was not going to be able to conceive naturally, Ms Lambley began to explore the world of In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF), with the possibility of using donor eggs.

But then came another challenge.

Ms Lambley does not have any sisters, and her mother was unable to donate.

It would be impossible for Ms Lambley to have a child with a similar genetic makeup, and if she wanted to achieve a pregnancy, it would have to be at the generosity of a friend, or even a complete stranger.

It was a difficult period for the couple, as both Ms Lambley and Mr Elliston were forced to accept that the road to parenthood would be even more difficult than they anticipated.

"It was hard to hear, but it was more difficult seeing Simone," Mr Elliston said.

"She would get the news and then come home. And then it was always waiting to get more news, and then Simone doing research on it.

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"That was just awful to watch because she would just go into a very depressive mood constantly."

But, according to Mr Elliston, it wasn't long until Simone accepted that IVF would be the best option for the couple.

"So I felt pretty confident that we were going to get through it," he said.

Shortly after, the couple were made an offer that they couldn't refuse - a close friend, and unexpected family member had offered to donate her eggs to the couple.

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