IVF in Calgary
Options, Cost & Real People
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Albertans Seek Help in Funding Fertility Treatments
With only the intial costs of solving infertility including in the health care plan,
couples in Alberta are looking else where to be able to afford to solve their medical problems.
Generations of Hope
Helping people to make families!
Melanie Ducharme says “I am six months pregnant with a little girl, and she is an IVF [in vitro fertilization] baby” (video on the right).
Melanie and Randy Ducharme, a married living in Calgary, successfully conceived their son through intra uterine insemination (IUI) in 2013. They have a passion for helping other families conceive after experiencing the difficult process themselves.
People of all walks of life came to Images of Hope to raise money towards helping low-income families who have fertility issues, but can’t afford the pricey fertility procedures. Many spoke about their personal experiences with in vitro fertilization (IVF).
People of all walks of life came to Images of Hope to celebrate and help raise money towards funding low income families who have fertility issues. Many spoke about their personal experiences with in vitro fertilization (IVF) – including Melanie and Randy Ducharme, a married couple who successfully had their son through Intra Uterine Insemination (IUI) and are currently six months pregnant with their daughter they conceived through IVF (video on the right).
Terri Abraham, President of Generations of Hope spoke about the lack of funding for infertile Albertans and says, "We're working on trying to get the government to look at public funding of fertility treatments, because we believe and The World Health Organization states that it is a medical condition. We live in Alberta where health care is paid for, and we believe it should be provided as part of our health care services."
On Mar. 7, 2015 Generations of Hope hosted their annual Images of Hope event at the Telus Spark Centre. In one night they managed to raise $85,000.
Abraham says: "I got involved because I was going through treatment myself to have a family and after being successful in having my first son I said I wanted to give back."
At the event there were silent and live auctions, as well as a dinner and fun activities to raise awareness – including selling Crave Cupcakes for $100 each to win a grand prize of a trip for two anywhere West Jet flies. In less than four minutes all of the cupcakes were sold and they raised $15,000 by simply selling mini cupcakes. $15,000 is about the cost of one cycle of IVF.
Generations of Hope is celebrating 10 years of helping people receive the medical treatment they require to start a family, with 128 babies born with the financial support of Generations of Hope.
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Abraham says that they have an ongoing petition with 25,000 Albertan signatures and that is just the beginning. "We're following a study that the Alberta Government did themselves that shows overall cost savings to health care if fertility treatment was funded," says Abraham.
"If the government was paying for treatments they could put in a single embryo transfer policy, which would mean with any treatment the multiple rates of birth would be significantly reduced. Whereas now if a couple pays $15,000, they may choose to put in two embryos at a time because they don't have another $15,000. They're trying to up their odds of success by putting in more embryos." Abraham explains the implantation of more than one embryo drastically increases health care costs, due to both the pregnancy and the birth being considered high-risk. Health care costs are increased as high-risk situations require several more protocols and procedures.
Program from Images of Hope Event
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