Let's face it, it's time for us to reinvent how we look at infertility. All these years, we have been viewing infertility as a quality of life issue. In fact, it is more like a disease, because human organs are not working as they should. A woman's right to try to get pregnant should be the same as a person's right to not have a broken bone or an infection. Nevertheless, we find ourselves in a situation where only people who can afford it and the few who have insurance can be appropriately treated.

Since infertility care is not generally covered by insurance, the medical community has become reactive as opposed to proactive in our management. Couples often wait a very long time before they seek help, as they fear what lies in store for them if infertility is in fact diagnosed. As a result, many women wait too long and are faced with a serious egg reserve problem. Imagine if a woman or man could find out that there is a problem even before they try to have children. If they found out early on, they could prepare themselves emotionally and financially for the upcoming struggle.

Fertility Partnership has created the Fertility Profile to give women an opportunity to get a snapshot of their reproductive health. If the results indicate that there is a significant depletion in their egg reserve, they can make decisions before it's too late. While the Fertility Profile can give women a good snapshot of their current health, however, it cannot predict that the egg reserve will remain within healthy ranges for a long time. In fact, I have seen women whose fertility indicators have changed dramatically over a very short period of time – as little as six months. But, if there is a problem, a woman has a right to know as soon as possible. As it stands now, a woman generally has to try to get pregnant for a year – six months if over age 35 – before most doctors will initiate a comprehensive workup. At the Fertility Partnership, my objective is to always be proactive and look for problems early on so that big decisions about having a baby can be made in a timely fashion.

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Donna Nichols is one of the most courageous and inspiring women you'll ever meet. Here's her story, courtesy of KTVI-TV, about battling the physical and emotional trauma of nine miscarriages before finally giving birth to two beautiful baby boys. Thanks, Donna, for sharing your story and giving hope to many other women dealing with the sorrow of recurrent miscarriage.

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It was my distinct pleasure to host Barbara Collura, executive director of RESOLVE and creator of National Infertility Awareness Week, at Fertility Partnership on April 20. In Barb, I found a fellow warrior in the infertility war – someone who’s as passionate as I am about increasing access to fertility services and helping people begin or expand their families.

One hope Barb and I share is that people experiencing problems conceiving or carrying a baby to term will understand – through educational events like National Infertility Awareness Week – that they are not alone. More than seven million Americans struggle with infertility. More than likely, someone you know is experiencing fertility issues – a friend, a colleague at work, even a member of your family. Unfortunately, too many people suffer in silence, embarrassed or ashamed that they cannot conceive a child.

If you’re one of those seven million, please know that infertility is a medical condition and that you’re no more to blame for it than cancer patients are for their diagnosis. For most of the people who seek help for their fertility issues, solutions are available.

You are not alone – Fertility Partnership and RESOLVE are just two of the many organizations expressly created to help you. Let this year’s National Infertility Awareness Week spur you to take the first step toward turning your dream of having a baby into reality.

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I was pleased to see my former longtime mentor, Dr. Sherman Silber, on KTVI-TV tonight discussing the latest techniques in preserving fertility for women who have or are battling cancer. The advances that have been made in procedures such as ovarian tissue freezing are simply amazing and will give many women a strong chance of having a baby where no hope existed before. This is a vital health topic in an era when the odds of surviving cancer are much better than in the past, and I’m glad to see the issue being addressed so effectively.

As important as it is to get the word out about preserving fertility for female cancer patients, it’s also important for men to know they have fertility preservation options available if they are diagnosed with cancer. At Fertility Partnership, we’ve already had a number of men facing a cancer diagnosis take steps to preserve their fertility.

In one case, a man who’d received a testicular cancer diagnosis in the morning was able to come straight to the Fertility Partnership office from his urologist and immediately give us samples to preserve. From our office, we followed him to the hospital for surgery, and we were able to perform a testicular sperm aspiration (TESA) during his cancer surgery to obtain even more samples. Fortunately, we were able to obtain enough viable sperm so that his entire reproductive needs are frozen for future use. Having a capable, local fertility center with the willingness and ability to respond quickly can make all the difference for people facing the sudden misfortune of a cancer diagnosis.

Unfortunately, preserving a woman’s fertility can be more challenging than for a man. The woman in the KTVI segment tonight had her ovary removed, sliced into pieces, frozen for 10 years, and then replaced back into her body after being sewn back together. While a tremendous breakthrough, this technique will not be useful for many of the most common cancers afflicting women of this age group. Leukemia, lymphoma and breast cancer can actually sequester, or harbor, cancer cells in a women’s ovary. We would not be able in those cases to use intact ovarian tissue for fear of reintroducing the cancer into the woman. Luckily, in those situations we have other options such as the proven method of freezing individual (cancer-free) eggs, or the newer science of taking those very same ovarian pieces and performing in vitro maturation in the lab, then harvesting the cancer-free eggs directly from a dish.

Woman or man, if you are diagnosed with cancer and wish to learn more about your options to help preserve your fertility, please contact Fertility Partnership anytime. We can move quickly to ensure every available option is considered in giving you the opportunity try conceiving after you win your battle with cancer.

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As politicians continue to sling mud over health care reform in Washington, Fertility Partnership is taking what I think will be a slightly faster path in an effort to change the system. Our mission is simple: we want to help more couples afford fertility treatments and achieve their dreams of having a baby, especially those who’ve largely been ignored by the medical establishment. Among the most neglected groups – minority ethnicities such as African-Americans and Latinos.  

Too many people feel as if fertility care, including in vitro fertilization (IVF), is out of reach. For many, Fertility Partnership is changing that. We are dramatically bringing down the costs – not nickel-and-diming patients – and we’re talking with people who have never before been reached with this message.

Last year, $4.4 billion was spent in the fertility industry, but few minorities accessed these services. Sometimes the block is cultural, sometimes religious, and sometimes it’s a language barrier, but most often it’s just too much money. We don’t have concrete numbers on minorities that are using fertility services, but we do know it’s very limited. It's certainly not helped by the information one finds on the Web. If you look at infertility blogs or the websites for the big fertility clinics nationwide, minorities are virtually non-existent.

Fertility Partnership wants to make high-quality health care affordable. The cost of fertility treatments has come down dramatically, but the savings are not being passed along to patients. There’s no point in having this remarkable technology to help families have babies if the average person can’t afford it, and there’s certainly no point in ignoring large sections of our country’s population who need fertility services.

Fertility Partnership exists to help everyone – no matter what their ethnicity, culture, religion or sexual orientation – begin the family of their dreams. If you belong to a community or religious group that would like to hear more about fertility care in general or specific infertility issues related to your group, please contact our office or email me at esimckes@fertilitypartnership.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . I welcome any opportunity to share more and help make fertility care accessible and affordable to all.

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