A solo mum picked a sperm donor who worked in hospitality and enjoyed being on stage - so her future daughter "would be down to earth and confident".

Annabelle Jones, 30, has endometriosis and was told IVF might be her only chance of having a baby, she says.

As she was reaching 30 and single, Annabelle felt it was "now or never" and contacted a fertility clinic to chose a donor.

While she couldn't choose her exact donor, she was allowed to choose the physical characteristics of her donor - and also what they had done in their past.

She decided to go for someone who she would typically choose to date.

Her donor had brown hair, blue eyes and worked in a pub which Annabelle said made her think he would be "down to earth".

He'd been into performing arts - and Annabelle went for this hoping her daughter would be confident, as a result.

Annabelle had 32 eggs retrieved and found out she was pregnant on April 28, 2023.

Her daughter Ottilie, now seven weeks, was born on January 8, 2024, via C-section, weighing 8 pounds and half an ounce.

Annabelle, an activities coordinator, from Oxford, said: "I narrowed it down to three donors in the end.

"That was due to their looks more than anything else.

"Then I looked at their personalities, what they do for work, their interests.

"I loved that he had worked in a pub. I worked in a pub - I think it is such a down-to-earth job.

"He also wrote that from a young age until he was 18, he did musical theatre.

"Something like that, whether it is in her genes and she does it or not, you need to have confidence.

"I would love for her to have the confidence I don't have."

Annabelle had suffered with endometriosis since she started her periods and was diagnosed in August 2020.

The doctors tried Annabelle on several different contraceptive pills, and the coil, which didn’t make a difference.

Annabelle kept pushing the doctors as she knew this wasn’t just period pain and she was diagnosed with PCOS.

She then went for a laparoscopy - a procedure used to check the organs in the pelvic area - and was diagnosed with endometriosis in August 2020.

She said: "When I got the diagnosis it was such a relief.

"For me, at first, I didn't worry about not being able to have children.

"It was more, there is something wrong with me and I am not being pathetic."

Annabelle then had a fertility test and was told IVF would be the only chance of her having a baby.

She then contacted TFP Fertility - IVF and fertility specialists - and started her IVF journey in April 2022.

Annabelle then had a scan and a blood test to check her egg count.

Annabelle said: "The fertility test showed a few concerns with my scan, and that IVF would possibly be my only chance of having a baby.

"I knew from my last surgery, that my chances of conceiving were low if I didn’t act quickly, as the difference in only a few years was quite drastic."

Annabelle was then sent a list of sperm donors to choose from.

Annabelle said: "One thing that stood out was the way he wrote.

"We had the sweetest letter that was attached.

"He wrote a letter for when she is 18 and that made me cry it was so lovely.

"He said he wanted to do it just to help others have a family, he was telling me that I am not alone.

"That quote for me was the one.

"He was also very academic and I am very creative - I wanted the donor to have different qualities from me to give Ottilie the best of both."