Pricey Miracles

New fundraising effort to help beat infertility

By Nicole Vaive, Calgary Sun

Barb Kelsall has gone through in vitro fertilization twice.

It cost nearly $20,000, but today Kelsall has a happy, healthy son.

“Some people have failed cycles and then you have to start over,” says the Calgary photographer and mother of a 17-month-old Liam.

“You’re not guaranteed anything. It’s a real rollercoaster.”

One in six Canadian couples face infertility, but many find the hefty price tag of in-vitro fertilization out of reach. To help, a new charity was launched this week to raise money for qualifying Calgary couples.

“IVF and other treatments are not covered by public or most private medical plans,” says Dr. Cal Greene, medical director of the Regional Fertility Program and fund board member.

“For a lot of people, that’s not an affordable option. And that just means heartbreak. We launched the Generations of Hope Fund to try to help address that, with the idea that everyone deserves at least the chance to try for a child.”

The charity’s first event is the Images of Hope Reception, an exhibit of original black and white photography featuring children conceived through IVF.

“We want to raise awareness, and we want to raise money,” says Kelsall.

Her images and those of 15 others will go on display at the Four by Five Gallery in Art Central. Organizers aim to raise enough money tonight for a family to go through the entire IVF process.

Their goal for the year: $100,000.

“IVF is expensive, and it all depends. The cycles involve getting eggs from the women and the drugs are very expensive. They can cost $400 a day.”

Kelsall says women must take the drugs for 10 to 12 days, and even then aren’t guaranteed success.

More than two million children have been born through assisted reproductive technologies since the first test tube baby in 1978.

Among those photographed for the exhibit: Calgary’s 5,000th IVF baby, nine-month-old Andy.

For more information on the Images of Hope Reception or the Generations of Hope Fund, go online to regionalfertilityprogram.ca or call 284-5444.

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INFERTILITY FAST FACTS

• Most women under 35 years of age who are trying to get pregnant are 85% likely to achieve success within one year. But as a woman ages, her conception odds drop. By age 40, it is estimated that her conception rate is in the range of 8-10% per month and at age 43, the pregnancy rate is thought to be as low as 1-3% per month.
• Examples of assisted reproductive technologies:
  • In vitro fertilization: A woman’s eggs are plucked from the ovaries, fertilized in a lab dish and returned in hopes of achieving a pregnancy.
  • IUI (intrauterine insemination): A man’s sperm is shot through a thin catheter directly into the uterus near the time of ovulation to improve Mother Nature’s odds.

— Sun Media and Graphic News