'Sweet Valley High' star reveals her baby Hope was possible thanks to egg donation from her twin sister
"Sweet Valley High" star Brittany Daniel revealed to People Magazine that her long journey to motherhood was made possible thanks to an egg donation from her twin sister Cynthia Hauser.
"Finally holding our baby in our arms is just -- it made me go, 'anything is possible,'" Daniel told "Good Morning America."
After her Stage 4 cancer diagnosis in 2011, Daniel said her rigorous chemotherapy treatment wiped out any chance of conceiving children.
"I went to meet with an IVF doctor -- he said, 'yeah, you're in two attempts at trying to retrieve eggs.' He said, 'I don't see this happening for you.' It was pretty devastating," Daniel said.
The actress, known for her role in the cult classic sitcom "The Game," leaned on her twin sister who agreed to share one of her eggs.
"I did tell the doctor, 'I have a twin sister,' and he was like, 'What? Is she healthy?' I said, 'Oh yeah she's so healthy, she has three kids,' -- and he said: 'We should bring her in,'" Daniel said. "So I asked Cynthia 'Would you be open to it?' and of course - I don't even remember hesitation -- like, 'of course I will, yeah I'll come in.'"
"The doctor said 'you guys share the same DNA so it's literally like your child -- we can't get any closer to a baby being your own,'" Daniel recalled from the conversation.
Their family was also in full support every step of the way, including Cynthia Hauser's husband and "Yellowstone" star Cole Hauser.
After multiple unsuccessful attempts to carry the baby herself, Brittany and her husband turned to a gestational carrier.
"I really wanted to carry the baby, but after three failed embryo transfers, I was like -- 'this is what we need to do,'" the actress said.
The sisters said they want their newest family member, baby Hope, to bring just that to other women struggling with fertility.
"It almost doesn't seem real that Brittany has her baby -- It's such a small act of kindness that created such a miracle child," her sister said.
"She's our baby. You know what I mean -- It doesn't matter that my sister gave us her egg. We look at her and she's our child," Daniel reiterated.
