WOMEN & INFANTS INTRODUCES COMPASSIONATE GIFT PROGRAM

Women & Infants’ Center for Reproduction and Infertility has created a special, donor-supported fund for women who would not be able to afford needed services. A first-of-its-kind in the country, the Compassionate Gift Program allows donors to share in granting the greatest gift of all – a chance to have a child.

Infertility affects approximately 6.1 million women and their partners in the U.S. – about 10 percent of the women of reproductive age. In recent years, there has also been an increase in the number of young women seeking to preserve their eggs before seeking treatment for cancer or other diseases that may have an impact on their fertility. Unfortunately, some patients cannot seek treatment because of insurance coverage restrictions, incomer or other barriers to care.

"Struggling with infertility can put an incredible amount of stress on a woman and her partner. But add to that the stress of the financial commitment required for the treatment, and the results can be overwhelming," said Sandra A. Carson, MD, medical director of the Center for Reproduction and Infertility at Women & Infants and Tufts Medical Center and professor at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.

"Increasingly, we are also seeing more women who are facing medical issues that require them to consider the impact of treatment on their fertility. So they are facing the costs and emotional turmoil of treating, say breast cancer, and now need to take into consideration the costs and additional emotional turmoil of preserving their fertility. This Compassionate Gift Program has been put in place to offer help to many of these patients who may require financial assistance," continued Dr. Carson.

Donors to the Compassionate Gift Program also reap incredible benefits. One anonymous donor said, "I cannot begin to tell you what a wonderful and fulfilling experience it is to be a financial donor to Women & Infants’ Center for Reproduction and Infertility. I just pray that whatever family I have helped has benefitted as much as I have."

For further information about the Center for Reproduction and Infertility, the Compassionate Gift Program or to make a gift, visit www.womenandinfants.org/infertility.

Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island, a Care New England hospital, is one of the nation’s leading specialty hospitals for women and newborns. The primary teaching affiliate of The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University for obstetrics, gynecology and newborn pediatrics, Women & Infants is the seventh largest obstetrical service in the country with more than 9,000 deliveries per year. Women & Infants has been designated as a Breast Center of Excellence from the American College of Radiography; a Center for In Vitro Maturation Excellence by SAGE In Vitro Fertilization; and a Neonatal Resource Services Center of Excellence. It is one of the largest and most prestigious research facilities in high risk and normal obstetrics, gynecology and newborn pediatrics in the nation, and is a member of the National Cancer Institute’s Gynecologic Oncology Group. The hospital was named Rhode Island’s Best Place to Work by Providence Business News and a National Center of Excellence in Women’s Health by the federal government. For information about Women & Infants, log on to www.womenandinfants.org, and for the name of a physician on the Women & Infants’ staff, call the Health Line at 1-800-921-9299.