Selected Podcast
Tips on Applying for Fertility Research and Grants
Dr. Hirshfeld-Cytron discusses tips on applying for fertility research and grants.
Featuring:
Jennifer Hirshfeld-Cytron, MD, MSCI
Dr. Hirshfeld-Cytron is board certified in both Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility and has been practicing medicine since 2004. She completed her Obstetrics and Gynecology residency at the University of Chicago, and then completed her three-year fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at Northwestern. Dr. Hirshfeld-Cytron’s professional interests include fertility preservation, which involves preserving fertility for women facing diseases of which treatment could impair ovarian function, as well as women choosing to delay fertility for social or personal reasons. Dr. Hirshfeld-Cytron is well-published in the areas of fertility preservation and cost analysis of fertility therapies. Dr. Hirshfeld-Cytron’s personal practice philosophy stems not only from her clinical expertise but from her experience as a woman and a mother. She understands the importance of individualized, comprehensive infertility care. Transcription:
Caitlin Whyte: Unfortunately for many fertility treatment is expensive and not often covered by insurance companies. But if you're like me, you might not have known that there are a number of research programs and even grants you can apply to help cover some of the costs associated with fertility treatments. Here to discuss some of those grants and tips for applying for them is Dr. Jennifer Hirshfeld-Cytron a Physician with the Fertility Centers of Illinois with locations throughout the Chicago area. This is the Time to Talk Fertility Podcast. I'm your host, Caitlin Whyte. So my first question is when it comes to these grants, is this for Doctors to apply to or patients?
Dr. Hirshfeld-Cytron: So the majority of the grants we are thinking about are for individuals who are undergoing fertility treatments. And so in the majority of the US, most States do not cover fertility treatments. I think it's estimated somewhere 10 to 11 States have any degree of coverage. And so laws are without question prohibitive. And there are not many, but there are some nonprofits throughout the US that provide resources so that individuals and couples can go through fertility treatments. And so one of those is local. Within the Illinois community. It is called the Kevin J Letter Life Foundation. Life finds a way that .org L I F E findsaway.org and every April that organization provides both granted IVF cycles and $10,000 grants did we use towards insemination, gestational carrier, egg donor adoption, so this provides a mechanism per cost to not be prohibitive. There are other programs such as this nationwide, there's one in Cincinnati, there's one in Colorado but unfortunately they are few and far in between.
The one within Illinois we are really excited about because as members of the Illinois reproductive community we are active members within that foundation. Other things for patients to consider is there are from time to time pharmaceutical based research studies. For instance, in the past year we have been a part of two. One we are now actively still doing recruiting for and so pharmaceutical based studies often are the pharmaceutical company wanting to prove efficacy of a medication, to prove changing the way medicines are administered are equally effective and the FDA appropriately so requires them to do a study. The benefit to the individual is that they get the fertility treatment cycle and the medications typically at no to significantly reduced costs. And so some of the best ways to know if that's going on is to look at different websites that just fcionline.com you can look in our research tab or it would be to ask your OB GYN or primary care physician if they are aware of any type programs within their state that could provide these means to having coverage.
Host: And you touched on the Life foundation in Chicago. Can you your role with them and a little more about the program in general?
Dr. Hirshfeld-Cytron: My personal role there, I'm the vice president of the Life foundation, I always view that as my second job when I'm done at work. This is what my passion is and I will tell you as physicians, most of us feel like we want something to offer when insurance doesn't cover. And even though Illinois is an insurance mandated state, there are still at least 20% of patients who are either under or uninsured. And that is because if a state has a mandate, there of course are loopholes. If you're a company is not headquartered out of Illinois. If you have X number of employees and that gets to the heart of this and the order for things to really change, people need to tell their human resources that because of the policies you've put into place, I am unable to obtain the fertility treatment that I need. That's the only way to truly make change. These foundations are a temporizing measure, asking our politicians, asking our human resources to change the laws, that's what we truly need.
In the meantime though as physicians we are not lobbyists and we are not very effective in terms of global change. The Kevin J Letter Life foundation was created in such a way that group of community within Chicago felt like we wanted to do something and so what it is, it is coming together. The majority of the infertility practices that donate one to two free IVF cycles. There is a program that occurs as a formalized process that patients apply to. My particular job and in the foundation is actually part of the application. The applications are then reviewed by eight to 10 infertility physicians based on certain criteria. In addition to those granted IVF cycles, there are separate monetary grants for things such as adoption, donation, gestational carrier, and a lot, most even in those cases we still have a formalized review system, but a lot of the recipients is also is need-based. So it is both. I know this is not the solution, but this is a step towards a solution and that's how most of us feel that are a part of it.
Host: So I sit down with my partner, you know, we're ready to have a baby, we found a grant that might work for us. What are some things we should add to our application that might increase our likeliness of getting picked?
Dr. Hirshfeld-Cytron: I think what is so important is to be very honest and upfront about your story, most individuals have an incredibly compelling story of their journey, and I think that is helpful to share and I appreciate us being vulnerable, but I think that is incredibly important. I think what's also important to the nonprofit is that in order for them to sustain themselves, they have to keep growing. And recipients of nonprofit grants are part of sort of the boots on the ground promoting the grant, letting others know about it, help identify funding, and so really demonstrating an application. This is how I would give back, this how I'd make others know about it. This is how I could help fundraise for it. Most nonprofits have a major fundraiser, like a race or an event, and this is how that individual would attend, get other people to attend. That's really important because for grants to sustain themselves or a nonprofit to sustain themselves, they need donations, and donations both from individuals and industry. And so the recipients are some of the key people to help on social media and other platforms really to get the word out and to encourage others to donate. And so I think those are some of the main things to demonstrate in your application is what you individually as a couple would do to promote it, and a little bit about your individual story so that those that are reading it can really appreciate everything that you've already been through.
Host: Now, knowing that, what are some mistakes that people might be making in their applications?
Dr. Hirshfeld-Cytron: I wouldn't say that necessarily, first in grants that there are mistakes. I think that most nonprofits have limited resources and they just don't have the capacity to fund everybody that's requesting. I know within the Life foundation, some of them we have established guidelines, so there is a salary cap. There is certain testing. For instance, if someone's going to be [inaudible] their own eggs, the goal is to really make sure that if there's limited resources, they are given to couples with a very high likelihood of success. So some of the medical testing that someone has done, it's going to go into the decision making. When it comes to research grants, typically large pharmaceutical companies have already created their inclusion and exclusion criteria. So the only modifiable factor in many cases could be tobacco use that should be stopped. And in some cases someone's BMI. And a BMI or body mass index is a calculation that's determined based on your height and weight. And so learning your BMI is a way of just being aware of your own sort of health and optimal capacity to conceive and also in the context of a research study to ask some of these questions. Is there a BMI limit? And if there is to lose weight so that you fall into that category. Besides those two factors, unfortunately most things are not modifiable. I think that the main goal with a research sites is just be informed and learn about them so that you can apply for them.
Host: I am so shocked that I've never heard of any of this information and I have some friends that I know and he did call right after this who are kind of starting to look into these treatments. Is there anything else you want to add?
Dr. Hirshfeld-Cytron: So I think the main piece on the research and the grants, my very honest opinion is this is a small piece of what we really need to do as a country, as a society, that we value infertility as what it is, which is an illness. Any illness should be covered by insurance. One in eight couples suffer from infertility and so I encourage all who are under or non insured to let their local and national representatives be aware that this is an issue that matters to them.
Host: Well again, thank you so much for your time today, Dr. Hirshfeld-Cytron. That was Dr. Jennifer Hirshfeld-Cytron with the Fertility Centers of Illinois with locations throughout the Chicago area. Find out more about what we discussed today and other fertility options on our website at fcionline.com, and you can find more about the Life Foundation in Chicago at lifefindsaway.org. If you enjoyed this podcast, find more like it in our podcast library and be sure to give us a like and to follow if you do. This has been the Time to Talk Fertility Podcast. I'm your host, Caitlin Whyte. We'll catch you next time.
Caitlin Whyte: Unfortunately for many fertility treatment is expensive and not often covered by insurance companies. But if you're like me, you might not have known that there are a number of research programs and even grants you can apply to help cover some of the costs associated with fertility treatments. Here to discuss some of those grants and tips for applying for them is Dr. Jennifer Hirshfeld-Cytron a Physician with the Fertility Centers of Illinois with locations throughout the Chicago area. This is the Time to Talk Fertility Podcast. I'm your host, Caitlin Whyte. So my first question is when it comes to these grants, is this for Doctors to apply to or patients?
Dr. Hirshfeld-Cytron: So the majority of the grants we are thinking about are for individuals who are undergoing fertility treatments. And so in the majority of the US, most States do not cover fertility treatments. I think it's estimated somewhere 10 to 11 States have any degree of coverage. And so laws are without question prohibitive. And there are not many, but there are some nonprofits throughout the US that provide resources so that individuals and couples can go through fertility treatments. And so one of those is local. Within the Illinois community. It is called the Kevin J Letter Life Foundation. Life finds a way that .org L I F E findsaway.org and every April that organization provides both granted IVF cycles and $10,000 grants did we use towards insemination, gestational carrier, egg donor adoption, so this provides a mechanism per cost to not be prohibitive. There are other programs such as this nationwide, there's one in Cincinnati, there's one in Colorado but unfortunately they are few and far in between.
The one within Illinois we are really excited about because as members of the Illinois reproductive community we are active members within that foundation. Other things for patients to consider is there are from time to time pharmaceutical based research studies. For instance, in the past year we have been a part of two. One we are now actively still doing recruiting for and so pharmaceutical based studies often are the pharmaceutical company wanting to prove efficacy of a medication, to prove changing the way medicines are administered are equally effective and the FDA appropriately so requires them to do a study. The benefit to the individual is that they get the fertility treatment cycle and the medications typically at no to significantly reduced costs. And so some of the best ways to know if that's going on is to look at different websites that just fcionline.com you can look in our research tab or it would be to ask your OB GYN or primary care physician if they are aware of any type programs within their state that could provide these means to having coverage.
Host: And you touched on the Life foundation in Chicago. Can you your role with them and a little more about the program in general?
Dr. Hirshfeld-Cytron: My personal role there, I'm the vice president of the Life foundation, I always view that as my second job when I'm done at work. This is what my passion is and I will tell you as physicians, most of us feel like we want something to offer when insurance doesn't cover. And even though Illinois is an insurance mandated state, there are still at least 20% of patients who are either under or uninsured. And that is because if a state has a mandate, there of course are loopholes. If you're a company is not headquartered out of Illinois. If you have X number of employees and that gets to the heart of this and the order for things to really change, people need to tell their human resources that because of the policies you've put into place, I am unable to obtain the fertility treatment that I need. That's the only way to truly make change. These foundations are a temporizing measure, asking our politicians, asking our human resources to change the laws, that's what we truly need.
In the meantime though as physicians we are not lobbyists and we are not very effective in terms of global change. The Kevin J Letter Life foundation was created in such a way that group of community within Chicago felt like we wanted to do something and so what it is, it is coming together. The majority of the infertility practices that donate one to two free IVF cycles. There is a program that occurs as a formalized process that patients apply to. My particular job and in the foundation is actually part of the application. The applications are then reviewed by eight to 10 infertility physicians based on certain criteria. In addition to those granted IVF cycles, there are separate monetary grants for things such as adoption, donation, gestational carrier, and a lot, most even in those cases we still have a formalized review system, but a lot of the recipients is also is need-based. So it is both. I know this is not the solution, but this is a step towards a solution and that's how most of us feel that are a part of it.
Host: So I sit down with my partner, you know, we're ready to have a baby, we found a grant that might work for us. What are some things we should add to our application that might increase our likeliness of getting picked?
Dr. Hirshfeld-Cytron: I think what is so important is to be very honest and upfront about your story, most individuals have an incredibly compelling story of their journey, and I think that is helpful to share and I appreciate us being vulnerable, but I think that is incredibly important. I think what's also important to the nonprofit is that in order for them to sustain themselves, they have to keep growing. And recipients of nonprofit grants are part of sort of the boots on the ground promoting the grant, letting others know about it, help identify funding, and so really demonstrating an application. This is how I would give back, this how I'd make others know about it. This is how I could help fundraise for it. Most nonprofits have a major fundraiser, like a race or an event, and this is how that individual would attend, get other people to attend. That's really important because for grants to sustain themselves or a nonprofit to sustain themselves, they need donations, and donations both from individuals and industry. And so the recipients are some of the key people to help on social media and other platforms really to get the word out and to encourage others to donate. And so I think those are some of the main things to demonstrate in your application is what you individually as a couple would do to promote it, and a little bit about your individual story so that those that are reading it can really appreciate everything that you've already been through.
Host: Now, knowing that, what are some mistakes that people might be making in their applications?
Dr. Hirshfeld-Cytron: I wouldn't say that necessarily, first in grants that there are mistakes. I think that most nonprofits have limited resources and they just don't have the capacity to fund everybody that's requesting. I know within the Life foundation, some of them we have established guidelines, so there is a salary cap. There is certain testing. For instance, if someone's going to be [inaudible] their own eggs, the goal is to really make sure that if there's limited resources, they are given to couples with a very high likelihood of success. So some of the medical testing that someone has done, it's going to go into the decision making. When it comes to research grants, typically large pharmaceutical companies have already created their inclusion and exclusion criteria. So the only modifiable factor in many cases could be tobacco use that should be stopped. And in some cases someone's BMI. And a BMI or body mass index is a calculation that's determined based on your height and weight. And so learning your BMI is a way of just being aware of your own sort of health and optimal capacity to conceive and also in the context of a research study to ask some of these questions. Is there a BMI limit? And if there is to lose weight so that you fall into that category. Besides those two factors, unfortunately most things are not modifiable. I think that the main goal with a research sites is just be informed and learn about them so that you can apply for them.
Host: I am so shocked that I've never heard of any of this information and I have some friends that I know and he did call right after this who are kind of starting to look into these treatments. Is there anything else you want to add?
Dr. Hirshfeld-Cytron: So I think the main piece on the research and the grants, my very honest opinion is this is a small piece of what we really need to do as a country, as a society, that we value infertility as what it is, which is an illness. Any illness should be covered by insurance. One in eight couples suffer from infertility and so I encourage all who are under or non insured to let their local and national representatives be aware that this is an issue that matters to them.
Host: Well again, thank you so much for your time today, Dr. Hirshfeld-Cytron. That was Dr. Jennifer Hirshfeld-Cytron with the Fertility Centers of Illinois with locations throughout the Chicago area. Find out more about what we discussed today and other fertility options on our website at fcionline.com, and you can find more about the Life Foundation in Chicago at lifefindsaway.org. If you enjoyed this podcast, find more like it in our podcast library and be sure to give us a like and to follow if you do. This has been the Time to Talk Fertility Podcast. I'm your host, Caitlin Whyte. We'll catch you next time.