Special Delivery:  connecting American couples with egg donors

	Tweet

Some couples spend their life’s savings trying to become pregnant. And it can break them, both financially and emotionally.

But a doctor in Richmond has figured out how to cut the cost of conceiving by tens of thousands of dollars.

Not only is he a fertility specialist, but he’s now an exporter and broker, connecting American couples with egg donors overseas.

9 News Jennifer Ryan walks us through one of his ‘Special Deliveries’.

Jennifer Ryan’s report

“My husband and I stand at the crib and we just stare at them and still we’re in disbelief”, says new mother Kathy Butuceanu.

At age 52, Kathy says she’s living her life in reverse.

“Honestly, we look at each other and can’t believe this happened to us”, she says.

It took half a lifetime and a 10,000 mile leap of faith to make Kathy and her new husband, 36-year old Cornell, parents.

“We can say we have two children; two boys for the price of one”, laughs Cornell.

Not many clinics could do it for less than $20,000. In fact, most, when they found out I was over 50, wanted a premium”, says Kathy.

A premium that pushed the price as high as $70,000.

“There was no way we could afford anything like that and I started to give up”, says Kathy.

So how did 7-month old Christian and Nicholai come about?

Dr. Sanford Rosenberg, a fertility physician in Richmond, has a program called Global Art USA, where couples are promised at least 6 embryos for as little as $8,000, because his donor eggs come from Romania.

“The IVF procedure is performed in Europe with the husband’s sperm on the donor that the patient has selected previously or the couple has selected previously then those embryos are cryopreserved and the courier brings them back here”, says Dr. Rosenberg.

He says a large number of the eggs are from women from Romania, which coincidentally is Cornell’s native country.

Drug costs and medical procedures are also a fraction of the price. Dr. Rosenberg says the donors rigorously screened according to U.S. standards. But the liability insurance for his export egg program is through the roof!

“I have a few months to make it work”, says Dr. Rosenberg.

In other words, if more American doctors don’t get on board to drive up the demand for the export program, it will fold.

“It’s very sad that good intentions can be killed by bureaucracy”, says Cornell.

As for Kathy, it’s been the most wonderful answer.

“Sometimes I have to pinch myself and say I am a mother”, she says.

Dr. Rosenberg says the Romanian donors undergo rigorous screening, according to U.S. standards.

He says of the 14 patients who’ve had embryos transferred, 12 conceived and 10 carried their babies to term.

Click on video to see Jennifer Ryan’s report.

RELATED STORIES:
One drink per day helps women’s mental powers   Antidepressant useful for hot flashes   Size of social circle tied to women’s heart health   Wine Divine For Women’s Hearts   Fertility drug combo promising in older women   Women More Likely than Men to be Hospitalized for Chest Pain   Osteoporosis care skimpy for African Americans   Mayo Clinic finds estrogen may prevent younger menopausal women from strokes   Surgeon General calls for more breastfeeding   Women less likely to receive critical care after a stroke, MSU researchers find   Strontium drug reduces fractures in elderly women   Vitamin D doesn’t slow bone loss in black women

Comments

[ + Post Your Own ]

Now you're in the public comment zone. What follows is not Armenian Medical Network's stuff; it comes from other people and we don't vouch for it. A reminder: By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement.

There are no comments for this entry yet. [ + Comment here + ]