Sabine and Manuel

Having twins is a tradition in our family. I—Sabine—have a twin sister, and since the middle of October, I’m the mother of twins.

However, that’s not the only family tradition: since the moment of our birth, my sister and I have been famous. We were the first set of twin test-tube babies born in Europe. Our mother trusted Professor Feichtinger back then in 1982, even though IVF was still a brand-new method of treatment in Austria. Her faith was well worth it—she ended up getting pregnant on the first try. Thanks to our story, the topic of medically assisted reproduction was never a taboo topic in our house. My sister Doris was lucky—she conceived naturally and is currently the mother of two children.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t that easy for me. “Go visit Professor Feichtinger in Vienna,” my mother told me as soon as it was clear that it would be impossible for me to conceive naturally. Just like my mother back in 1982, I was diagnosed with obstruction of both of my fallopian tubes. Manuel and I traveled back and forth to Vienna for treatment, and on the second try, I got pregnant with Sabrina and Jasmin.

My story is short, yet it’s still possibly the first IVF-story that took place over two generations and was made possible thanks to Prof. Feichtinger and his team!

Doris and Sabine (born 10.11.1982) & Sabrina and Jasmin (born 16.10.2006).