How One Startup Is Making Egg Freezing More Affordable and Equitable
Summary
Cofertility, a Los Angeles-based startup aimed at making family-building more equitable and accessible, closed a $7.25 million Series A funding round this month. The Split program allows women to freeze their eggs for free when they give half to a family who cant otherwise conceive.By bringing egg donation and egg freezing together at scale, Cofertility is addressing several key issues in fertility, said CEO Lauren Makler a former Uber exec who founded the companys health division in 2017.First, one of the most significant issues in the fertility industry is the exclusionary costs associated with egg freezing which typically run between $12,000 and $20,000, she noted.This makes it simply out of reach for most women, especially considering the best time to freeze your eggs is often when we can least afford it and when were least likely to be thinking about it, Makler explained.There is also stigma around egg donation and that is largely rooted in the cash compensation model, she added.This stigma not only prevents women from pursuing something they may genuinely want (helping another family grow), but it also limits options for intended parents. This conundrum disproportionately impacts the LGBTQ community, for whom egg donation is often essential to building a family, Makler pointed out.She also noted that there is a substantial lack of ethnic diversity amongst donors, which leaves prospective parents without adequate options for growing a family that reflects their background. Our integrated approach makes fertility preservation more accessible, tackles the lack of racial and socioeconomic diversity in egg donation, and makes the process less transactional attracting women who might not have considered it otherwise, she declared.The startups platform and egg donor database streamline the entire egg donation process from recruitment to matching to cycle coordination, Makler said.Intended parents can browse donor profiles, which offer insights into each donors personality and motivations, along with photos and videos.We wanted a platform that would compliment our human-centered approach and provide education, support and personalized guidance along the way. Were a platform that empowers women to take control of their reproductive futures while also helping intended parents grow their families all with transparency and empathy during every part of the journey, she explained.