Newsagent ad placed for egg donor

The egg donor advert appears in this newsagent's window

A 53-year-old woman is so desperate to have a baby before it is too late she has placed adverts in four newsagents' windows to find an egg donor.

The woman, from Maidstone, Kent and her 47-year-old husband have been trying for a baby for more than 12 years.

The couple, who do not wish to be named, said the advert was the "last roll of the dice". Their fertility clinic will only treat women up to 56.

The adverts appeal for a "kind person" who would bring them "so much joy".

The couple have spent more than £16,000 on IVF treatment and other medical procedures in their quest for a child.

"If it's fate that it doesn't happen then it won't but at least when we get to the end of our lives we will know we have tried everything possible," said the would-be mother, who is a librarian.

The woman has saved this teddy since she was a child

The couple are trying to find their own donor because there is currently an average two to three-year wait for an egg through clinics.

Her chances of conceiving naturally have been reduced because she has had fibroids (benign tumours).

The couple also tried to put up adverts in local supermarkets but were refused permission.

It would be illegal to pay the donor for her eggs but the couple said they would pay her expenses.

The advert asks prospective donors to contact the London Fertility Centre in Harley Street, where the couple are registered.

Scientific director Dr Alan Thornhill said: "We applaud their efforts.

"We wish more people would come forward and donate their eggs. It's a very worthwhile thing to do."