To pay for university, Amy Throckmorton donated her eggs to an infertility center. Having forgotten about it, she was very surprised when 18 years later she discovered that her egg hadn't been wasted, but "turned" into a beautiful 18-year-old girl named Elizabeth Gaba. And the best part is that even though mom and daughter don't look alike (Amy is blonde and Elizabeth is brown-haired), they've found a lot in common. But first things first!
"I thought, why not make extra money?"
In 1999, when Amy was at the University of Southern California, she saw an ad in the student newspaper, the Daily Trojan. It invited all willing girls to donate eggs to an infertility center for money.
"It was about time to pay for the next semester, and I thought: why not make money? Especially since, unlike other girls, I did not feel squeamish about medical procedures. And I also liked the idea of helping some childless couple," Amy recalls.
In those years, the selection of donors was much less thorough than it is now. The main requirements were the age – from 26 to 32 years – and higher education (albeit incomplete). So meeting all the criteria, Amy donated her eggs.
"Hello. I think you're my mom."
Years passed. Amy graduated from university, happily married, and one by one had three kids. She never even thought about her donation. Until one day, 18 years later, she got an e-mail:
"Hello. My name is Elizabeth Gaba. And I think you're my mother. How about we meet."
It turns out that 18 years ago Amy's egg had been chosen for IVF for a woman from Los Angeles who gave birth safely to a baby girl named Elizabeth.
There wasn't much information: her year of birth, university, and an old yellowed photo.
According to Elizabeth, her parents never hid how she came into the world. That's why, growing up, the girl decided to find her biological mother.
Elizabeth made inquiries at the medical center and since 20 years ago they didn't bother about confidentiality, she quickly got the information she needed. True, the information was scarce: year of birth, university, and an old photo of a beautiful blonde in the pool. But even that was more than enough.
And soon, thanks to the almighty Internet, Elizabeth found out the name and address of the egg donor. And, without thinking twice, she sent her an e-mail.
"I was very worried about how our first meeting would go."
And so, 18 years later, mother and daughter were finally able to meet.
"I was very nervous about how our first meeting would go. But when I walked into the room, Amy gave me a big, tight hug. And I was immediately relieved," Elizabeth says.
Having recovered from the initial shock, Amy and Elizabeth looked at each other, and regretfully pointed out that they did not resemble each other in appearance. Amy is a natural blonde with blue eyes, while Liz is brown-haired and has dark eyes.
It turned out that Liz was in the same group as Amy and sang the same songs
But then they found out that looks were not important and that mother and daughter had much in common.
First of all, Elizabeth also went to the University of Southern California. Secondly, she, like Amy, is a professional singer. And (what a coincidence!) she sings in SoCal VoCals, a band that Amy used to be in. And it's the same songs.
After that, mom and daughter had no choice but to go to the piano and sing one of their favorite songs. And then there was another coincidence – their voices were exactly the same.
"The further we went, the more similarities we found. We had the impression that we were the same person. It was scary," Elizabeth says.
"When our voices merged, you couldn't tell them apart. It was so exciting," Amy echoes her.
"Eighteen years later, my egg showed up and it turned out to be so wonderful!"
Now Elizabeth is a frequent guest at Amy Throckmorton's home. She has been introduced to her husband Brandon and their three children.
"I'm happy to have Amy in my life and I hope our relationship develops," Elizabeth Gaba says.
"It turned out to be a great story: I donated my egg and 18 years later my egg showed up and it turned out to be so wonderful. It's just great!" Amy Throckmorton laughed.
Source: mama-likes
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