Kaitlyn and Jared Guzzardo of Baton Rouge, and Jordan and Daniel Allen of Sulphur are the winners of grants from fertility health system Fertility Answers to be used for in vitro fertilization (IVF) from a Louisiana fertility clinic. Additionally, Rachel and Matthew Gayle of Zachary were awarded a free, intrauterine insemination (IUI). All three couples have been struggling with infertility for several years.
At the age of 21, Jared Guzzardo was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. Months of chemotherapy and radiation followed, but proactive steps ensured the future of his children--Jared’s mom encouraged him to freeze his sperm prior to treatment. Jared is now five years cancer free, but the chemotherapy and radiation has made him unable to father a child. Without the foresight of his mother, concerned about her son’s future family, this reality would have been final. But with frozen sperm, Jared and his wife Kaitlyn now have a path towards pregnancy and a child of their own.
Teachers Jordan and Daniel Allen tried for years to have a child. After a lot of testing and frustrations, they received the diagnosis of male factor infertility, the cause of about 30 percent of all infertility cases. Over the next year, they would have four failed ovulation induction cycles and would deplete their savings on treatment. With in vitro fertilization as the next logical step in treatment, they knew it was out of their reach financially on the salaries of two teachers.
After eight years of trying to conceive, Rachel and Matt Gayle still believe their chance will come. Male infertility issues have also sidelined their efforts to have a child of their own. Years of treatment have left them financially unable to continue, and emotionally drained. But the couple is hoping this gift of a free IUI cycle will finally make them parents.
One in eight American couples experience the struggle of infertility. However, few insurance companies provide coverage for infertility, and, as a result, most infertility treatment costs are paid for out-of-pocket by the patient. But with a price tag of around $15,000 to $20,000 per IVF cycle, the treatment cost is often out of reach financially for many couples.
While Louisiana is one of only a small number of states that mandate insurance coverage for infertility, the mandate itself contains loop-holes that work against a couple struggling with infertility. The state prohibits insurance companies from excluding coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions that result in infertility, yet the law does not require insurers to cover fertility drugs, IVF, or other assisted reproductive techniques which are often a couple’s only means of building a family.
Created to ease the high costs, both financially and emotionally of IVF, Fertility Answers launched the Gift of Hope program to award infertility treatments to couples who demonstrate both financial and medical need for the procedure. Since 2006, there have been 16 Louisiana couples awarded the Gift of Hope, eight of whom have conceived. Five babies have been born as a result.
“We started the program as a way to help Louisiana couples undergo IVF who could not otherwise afford it,” said Dr. John Storment, founder and medical director of Fertility Answers. “Our clinic has always been community-minded, and this is another example of our commitment to furthering access to infertility healthcare in our state.”
Fertility Answers is a regional infertility health system with statewide reach, serving more than two-thirds of Louisiana in over 40 parishes. It includes two main clinical offices and state-of-the-art laboratories in Lafayette and Baton Rouge. Fertility Answers has helped thousands of couples become parents since its inception in 2002.
For more information about the Gift of Hope program, along with the stories of our winners, please visit fertilityanswers.com/gift-hope-grant-program