THEY have always been open about their plans to start a family via in vitro fertilization (IVF) and celebrity couple Ice Seguerra and Liza Dino finally took the first step in their quest to have a baby.
The singer, who came out as a transgender man in 2014, recently underwent egg retrieval.
“Noong January after the first day of my menses I went to the doctor and I started na injections. ‘Yung injections na ito is to stimulate my eggs. The goal is when they harvest my eggs dapat madami kahit papaano, huwag lang isa,” Seguerra said in an interview with ABS-CBN News and other members of entertainment media on Tuesday at a press conference for his Valentine’s concert “Acoustic Love Journey ” with Nyoy Volante on Feb. 9 at Palacio de Maynila.
To produce more and healthy eggs, Seguerra had to have daily injections for 12 days.
“Finally we were able to harvest three good quality eggs. So I’m happy. That’s the first step. So mayroon ng eggs at ipi-freeze ‘yon,” added Seguerra who admitted that he was surprised to find out that it’s not that expensive to freeze eggs.
“Less than P20,000 for the whole year na,” he said.
As for the sperm, the couple went to a cryobank which they found online.
“We were down to two donors. When you go to cryobank kasi it’s just a website. Makikita mo roon, of course, the picture, pero baby picture ‘yon usually and the profile of the donor. From the most mundane things like mahilig akong kumain to the medical history. So, siyempre ang choice talaga namin is Caucasian. Ang napili namin Superman ang tawag namin sa isa, ‘yung isa si Boy Pogi,” Seguerra said.
“Actually napili namin, nagustuhan namin si Superman. Napili namin siya because he’s a 6-footer. Siya si blue eyes. Mayroon kasi roon ‘yung parang Myers-Briggs (Type Indicator) – he is an ENFP (Extraversion, Intuition, Feeling, Perception) and my wife is also and ENFP. Ang hinahanap kasi namin gusto ko ‘yung ugali at characteristics is almost Liza. Nakalagay doon he’s an artist, summa cum laude. He finished Sociology, tapos he’s a musician. He’s a classically trained singer, he plays guitars and other instruments and during his spare time he loves to cook. So, sabi ko okay ito sakto, pogi. Wala man siyang picture roon, ang nakalagay roon look-alike. So ang look-alike niya ay si Liam Hemsworth at saka si Jamie Dornan,” added Seguerra, who admitted that he likes mestizo.
“Kapag napili na namin ‘yung (sperm donor) that’s when the fertilization starts. Usapan namin ni Liza is by December kasi ang dami niya talagang trabaho. Siyempre ayaw namin na stressed siya tapos magbubuntis. …Sabi ko, ‘Love, ayaw ko ng hindi this year.’ Sabi niya, ‘Yes, I promise December.’ So December ita-transfer sa kanya (kay Liza) ‘yung fertilized na embryo. Siya ‘yung magbubuntis. So that’s really the process,” Seguerra shared.
Seguerra admitted that it’s pricey to undergo IVF. They were just lucky that they don’t need to pay for the eggs and the surrogate.
Asked if they already spent P1 million for the procedure, Seguerra said: “Sa ngayon wala pa roon.”
Seguerra admitted that before planning to look for a cryobank he also thought of asking his friends like Derek Ramsay to be a sperm donor.
Seguerra said what is important now is that he and Liza are ready to be a good parents to their future baby.
“Nung una sabi ko boy, tapos girl. Ngayon basta healthy. Gusto ko okay siya,” Seguerra said. (ABS-CBN News)
