Category: Speakers

Gareth Landy is a professional speaker with expertise and lived experience of XXY. In 2017, when Gareth and his wife Anna were trying to have a family, they learned that he was born with an extra X chromosome. Whereas women are XX, men are XY, Gareth is XXY. This condition is also known as Klinefelter Syndrome. Though it is a spectrum there are associated traits one of which is infertility. Following a dreadful experience with a medical professional in Ireland they went to London for a second opinion and met a very experienced urologist called Jonathan Ramsay.

Over the next year, Gareth had two operations on his testicles as it was hoped that sperm could be retrieved. Following the failure of the second procedure, Anna and Gareth switched to using donor sperm and did three rounds of IVF. In November 2019, their twins were born in the Coombe Hospital, Dublin.

In the last two to three years, Gareth has conducted around 40 interviews talking about his experience of what he went through. In 2023 he did a TED Talk and in May 2024 he ran his fifth marathon to raise awareness of male infertility and XXY. Gareth has now made the decision to become a professional speaker, as he wants to break the taboo of male infertility.

Read more on Gareth’s website.

“Coming from a family of 4 siblings I longed to have our home full of laughter and general every day noise, it took almost four years for this to happen.

We experienced many failed IVF attempts in Belfast and eventually a journey through egg donation at IVF Spain in Alicante, we now have a healthy little son and daughter aged 3 and 1.5 years old, our IVF twins.

I look forward to sharing our story with you if you wish to hear it.”

Danya Harris has been processing applications for information from donor-conceived people, their parents and donors at the HFEA since 2017. She has managed the Opening the Register (OTR) service since 2020 and has been responsible for more than doubling the size of the team.

Danya was involved in the project to improve operational aspects of the OTR service and had an advisory role to the other workstreams related to the 2023 milestone. Danya has spoken at BICA workshops, Fertility 2023, BFS Study Week and at the DC Network’s conference.

She has a Master’s in Health Care Ethics and a degree in Philosophy, specialising in medical ethics. She is a Mental Health First Aider and has completed various training courses on counselling skills and managing difficult and sensitive conversations.

Dr Vasanti Jadva is a Reader in Psychology at City, University of London. She holds honorary positions at the Centre for Family Research, University of Cambridge and the Institute for Women’s Health, UCL. Her research examines the psychological well-being of parents and children in families created by IVF, egg donation, sperm donation and surrogacy.

She has also studied the experiences of surrogates and gamete donors in the UK and abroad. Dr Jadva is working on several research projects including a study of the experiences of parents who have used preimplantation genetic diagnosis, a longitudinal study of families created using surrogacy, egg donation and sperm donation and a follow-up of surrogates twenty years on.

Kate is a donor conceived adult who talks and writes about donor conception and her experiences of being donor conceived. In her spare time she enjoys rock climbing and long walks, and has recently convinced her partner to try camping.

Hayley King is an advocate, campaigner and founder of ‘All Things Donor Conception’, a website dedicated to sharing information and resources for donor conceived people, their parents, and donors.

Hayley is a donor conceived adult herself, with her parents undergoing pioneering IVF treatment in the early 1980’s with an anonymous sperm donor. In a twist of fate, Hayley is also the mother of donor conceived twins whom she raises alongside her wife, placing her in the somewhat unusual situation of being both a donor conceived person and a parent through donor conception. Hayley offers a unique perspective regarding the complexities of donor conception, by providing a balanced and informative view of this nuanced topic. Hayley has recently taken on the role of Operations Manager at Paths to Parenthub, an online support platform supporting parents via donor conception.

In addition to helping families on a daily basis, Hayley has also featured on numerous podcasts and broadcast programmes including BBC Women’s Hour, and has been invited to present as a key note speaker at events for organisations including the British Infertility Counsellors Association (BICA), The Donor Conception Network, The Fertility Show London, FEMMIS, and the Progress Educational Trust (PET).

Dr Agbaje currently works as an NHS Consultant Gynaecologist & Infertility Specialist in the Belfast Trust. He is the HFEA Person Responsible for the Regional Fertility Centre and the Regional Andrology Laboratory Director. He is a founder, Medical Director and HFEA Person Responsible at TFP Belfast Fertility.

A graduate of Queen’s University, he trained in London and Belfast, and was awarded a PhD in 2008. He has published a number of research papers related 
to male infertility, and has presented his work both nationally and internationally. 

He obtained RCOG sub-speciality training in reproductive medicine and surgery in 2010. His specialist interests include male infertility and Reproductive Endocrinology (polycystic ovarian syndrome, ovulation disorders, hirsutism). 

He is experienced in the advanced management of both male and female fertility problems including reproductive surgery, ovulation induction and assisted conception.