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Program allows women to donate half their eggs, freeze the rest for free amid rising costs
As egg freezing becomes more popular, many young women face the challenge of affording the procedure. The average cost to freeze eggs in the United States is around $10,000. Despite these high costs, in 2022, nearly 30,000 egg freezing cycles were performed in the U.S., which is up from just 7,600 in 2015.
A painful and costly journey
Ten days of painful hormone shots were part of Angie’s journey to preserve her fertility. The 26-year-old medical student documented her experience in a video diary, sharing the physical and emotional challenges she faced. On the day of her egg retrieval, she was able to preserve 34 eggs. Shocked by the number, Angie decided to keep half of her eggs and donate the rest.
Angie couldn’t have afforded to freeze her eggs without the help of Cofertility’s “Split” program. This initiative allows women to freeze their eggs for free if she donates half of her mature eggs to a person or couple seeking a donor. Both the donor and the intended parent must agree to the match. The intended parent covers all of the donor’s medical costs and a 10 year storage fee, along with an $8,000 fee to Cofertility.
“What was super appealing to me was the chance to have my eggs, the freezing covered for free,” she said.
She said she feels good knowing that she will be helping someone else while also having her future eggs stored for the day she decides she wants a family.
Lauren Makler is the co-founder of Cofertility, which launched in 2022. She said in the unlikely event a donor is unable to produce any or many mature eggs, she will not be responsible for any costs. The intended parent would still cover it.
Cofertility’s Split Program
According to Cofertility, Split donors must be between 21 and 33 years old and undergo comprehensive medical screenings based on FDA and American Society for Reproductive Medicine guidelines, as well as have psychological and legal counseling.
Makler said the ideal time for women to freeze their eggs is when they are younger, which is often when they can least afford it. She also mentioned that her program offers mutual benefits, as there is a high demand for egg donors today, with many people needing help to grow their families.
When asked if there may be a concern about whether some young women might feel pressured to donate eggs to afford to freeze their own, Makler said she does not believe this is the case.
“It’s an option that is great for some people and not for others,” she added.
For intended parents seeking fresh donor eggs, Cofertility’s model—where donors are not paid—offers an average savings of about $8,000 compared to traditional egg banks that compensate donors.
Cofertility does not guarantee anonymity but offers matches the option to be in contact or not with each other and any future child.
If a woman goes through the screening and finds out she is not eligible to be a donor, or chooses not to donate her eggs, Cofertility offers a Keep program, where a woman can freeze her eggs at a discounted cost.
Real-life impact
While Makler emphasizes the ethical approach of their program compared to traditional egg banks that offer cash compensation, Arthur Caplan, an ethics professor at New York University, advises potential donors to consider the implications of having a biological child they may not know at the price of freezing their eggs.
Nikole, a 27-year-old from New York City, had reservations about donating her eggs, but eventually found peace with her decision. She had initial hesitations about giving away her DNA and questioned if she was entirely comfortable with the idea. It took her about a month and a half to come to terms with it and feel confident in her choice.
“I realized that it wasn’t really about me, and it is about somebody else and their family, and I have the opportunity to create a family of my own,” she said. “I get really emotional thinking about what I’m doing for someone, and it really makes my heart happy.”
Nikole helped Maiko, a single gay man from Miami, achieve his dream of having children. Maiko received 17 eggs from Nikole, and his surrogate is now pregnant with twins due on Valentine’s Day.
“I just burst out in tears. It really became real that this is happening, and just to get that good news, and that it’s twins and everything, it was just overwhelming,” Maiko said.
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Floodwaters pushed by the remnants of Hurricane Helene left North Carolina’s largest mountain city largely cut off Saturday by damaged roads and a lack of power and cellphone service, part of a swath of destruction across southern Appalachia that left an unknown number dead and countless worried relatives unable to reach loved ones.
In North Carolina alone, more than 400 roads remained closed on Saturday as floodwaters began to recede and reveal the extent of damage. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said that supplies were being airlifted to that part of the state. Cooper said two people died in his state, Helene killed at least 52 people across multiple states.
Among those rescued from rising waters was nurse Janetta Barfield, whose car was swamped on Friday morning as she left an overnight shift at Asheville’s Mission Hospital. She said she watched a car in front of her drive through standing water and thought it was safe to proceed. But her car stalled, and within minutes water had filled her front seat up to her chest. A nearby police officer who saw her car stall helped her to safety.
“It was unbelievable how fast that creek got just in like five minutes,” Barfield said.
Erik Verduzco / AP
Early on Saturday morning, many gas stations were closed because they didn’t have electricity, and the few that were open had hourlong lines wrapped around the block. The hub of tourism and arts, home to about 94,000 people, was unusually still after floodwaters swamped neighborhoods known for drawing visitors including Biltmore Village and the River Arts District, which is home to numerous galleries, shops and breweries.
More than 700,000 power customers were without power across North Carolina, including 160,000 in Buncombe County. Interstate 40 and I-26 were impassible in multiple locations, and a state transportation department map showed that most routes into Asheville and across much of the mountains were snarled. North Carolina’s Department of Transportation posted on social media on Saturday afternoon that “all roads in Western North Carolina should be considered closed.”
In Asheville, there was no cellular service and no timeline for when it would be restored.
“We have had some loss of life,” County Emergency Services Director Van Taylor Jones told reporters. However, he said they were not ready to report any specifics. Officials have been hindered in contacting next of kin by the communications outages. Asheville police instituted a curfew from 7:30 p.m. Friday to 7:30 a.m. Saturday.
“The curfew is to ensure the public’s safety and will be in effect until further notice,” police said.
Asheville transit services were also suspended, police said. The city advised residents to boil “all water used for human consumption,” as there was at least one significant water line break during the storm. Many residents might not be getting water or reduced or no pressure water.
Jones said the area experienced a cascade of emergencies that included heavy rain, high winds and mudslides. Officials said they tried to prepare for the storm but its magnitude was beyond what they could have imagined.
“It’s not that we (were) not prepared, but this is going to another level,” Sheriff Quentin Miller said. “To say this caught us off-guard would be an understatement.”
Erik Verduzco / AP
Atlanta resident Francine Cavanaugh said she has been unable to reach her sister, son, or friends in the Asheville area.
“My sister checked in with me yesterday morning to find out how I was in Atlanta,” she said on Saturday. “The storm was just hitting her in Asheville, and she said it sounded really scary outside.”
Cavanaugh said her sister had no idea how bad the storm would be there. She told Cavanaugh she was going to head out to check on guests at a vacation cabin “and that’s the last I heard of her. I’ve been texting everyone that I know with no response. All phone calls go directly to voicemail.”