A couple who defied parental disapproval to start a life together are now facing the heartbreaking news that they may never have children.

After four years of fighting to get their families to agree, the couple finally married two years ago but were devastated recently when doctors told them they may never be able to conceive naturally.

The woman, who is only 25, is going through a premature menopause and has been forced to look for an egg donor.

But because egg donation is taboo in Asian society and sperm and egg donation is forbidden under Islamic law, the couple fear they may struggle to find a donor.

They have spoken out about their plight in the hope someone might come forward to help them but have asked to remain anonymous because their situation is such a taboo in their own community.

The couple met and fell in love when they were students at Karachi University in Pakistan.

The woman, who was studying for a degree in botany, said: "My parents didn't know and I couldn't tell them because I was from a Punjabi family and he was from a Gujerati family."

Her parents had been opposed to the marriage and only agreed after doctors found a cyst on her ovary and had to operate.

The woman said: "After the operation they thought no-one else would marry me so they agreed."

The couple were married two years ago and moved to Bradford. A short time later the woman discovered she was going through early menopause.

Her husband, 29, an electronics engineer, said: "We love each other and when we got married it was for life."

The woman said: "Everyone wants to have a baby but when you fall in love you want it even more. It's a sign of our love for each other and we used to talk about having our own little family even before we were married."

There is a shortage of egg donors and many couples wait for several years for donated eggs.

Changes made to fertility laws earlier this year allow a child born from donated eggs to be told who their biological mother is when they reach 18.

Professor Adam Balen, of the reproductive medicine unit at Leeds General Infirmary, said: "Before the change in the law we used to have a list of people who voluntarily came forward to altruistically donate eggs.

"Now we do not really have a list of donors so we have to ask patients to find their own donors. In my experience, egg donation is the one thing that is hardest to achieve because very few Asian women come forward to act as donors."

Pip Morris, donor recruitment manager for the National Gamete Trust, a Government charity which helps childless couples, said: "It is great that this Muslim Asian couple have come forward because it can be extremely taboo."

Anyone wishing to help the couple should call 0779 0654 04. For more information about the National Gamete Trust visit www.ngdt.co.uk e-mail: saima.mir@bradford.newsquest.co.uk