30th June 2014 | by MFC Team
More couples turning to crowd funding to finance the high cost of fertility treatments
Fertility treatments are often very expensive. One cycle of in-vitro fertilization (IVF), ranges from $8,000 to $14,000, with 3 cycles often being required before a viable pregnancy is achieved. This makes IVF and several other fertility treatments (e.g., donor egg, donor sperm, gestational surrogacy) out of the financial range of many infertile couples. Faced with permanent childlessness, an increasing number of individuals and couples are turning to crowd funding – asking others to donate to their cause – in order to raise the money they need to fund their fertility treatments.
One such couple is Bryan and Lisa Heine, from Bloomington Illinois. Lisa has polycystic ovary syndrome, an underactive thyroid, and a tumour on her pituitary gland, which makes it difficult for her to conceive. After an ectopic pregnancy and unsuccessful IVF treatment, the couple was told that their only option was to try to conceive with egg donation – an expensive procedure that they just couldn’t afford. So they turned to a crowd funding site, where they shared their story and raised $6,000 in four short months, with donations ranging from $10 to $500. Lisa shared:
“Although we experienced so much loss, we are still extremely hopeful that we can still become parents. This entire experience has been an emotional and financial burden on us, but Bryan and I remain a strong couple determined to conquer these obstacles together.We continue to pray and have faith that we were meant to have a child to love and help grow.”
Read more about crowd funding here and here.
Read more about Bryan and Lisa’s story here.
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