Modern family: Lesbian couple planning birthdays of two sets of twins

Same-sex couple Laura Cavin and Sheri Green each conceived twins from the same set of eggs and anonymous donor sperm through in vitro fertilization.

All four children – Brianna, Derrick, Anthony and Cason – were conceived on the same day and technically are quadruplets, even though the two sets of children were born two weeks apart.

The women, wanting to have children, are patients of Dr. Craig Sweet, a reproductive endocrinologist and medical director of Specialists in Reproductive Medicine and Surgery in Fort Myers, Fla.

At the time, Green was almost 35 and Cavin was 24.

They decided Green, who wanted biological children, would provide her eggs and Cavin, who wanted to experience pregnancy, would carry the child.

Though Cavin conceived identical twins from the transfer of a single embryo that split, the first attempt ended at 24 weeks gestation because of a rare condition of twin-to-twin transfusion, where one twin was not getting enough blood while the other was getting too much.

The couple went back to Sweet, who was born in Milwaukee and grew up in Shorewood, Wis., to try another time.

Again, Green produced an abundance of eggs and high quality embryos, according to Sweet, who said a decision was made that each woman would carry two embryos.

“The chance that all four transferred embryos would implant and grow was less than 2 percent, so we were all amazed when the improbable occurred,” Sweet said.

Cavin delivered Briana and Derek on May 9, 2011, and Green gave birth to Anthony and Cason on May 23, 2011.

Sweet said, “They are a family connected through genetics, reproductive medicine and the love these two women share with each other – an amazing modern family.”

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