Couples Struggling To Conceive Turn To Crowdfunding
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - It's a difficult situation many families find themselves in: One in every 10 couples has trouble conceiving a child.
Many turn to in vitro fertilization or adoption -- both pricey options -- to become parents. WCCO found couples turning to crowdfunding for help.
It's an online bank account that for two months Dan and Katy Dahle have watched grow.
"I think some of our first donations were from people we hadn't talked to in four years," Dan Dahle said.
"We've just been blown away!" Katy Dahle said. "Just blown away."
Their page isn't so much about paying a bill as sharing a personal story.
"I would not be here without friends and family," Katy Dahle said. "I would not be. I was in a very bad place."
The Dahles first tried to get pregnant two years ago. Within just a few months, Katy suffered two miscarriages. They hoped a third would finally last.
"I had emergency surgery," Katy Dahle said. "I lost my right fallopian tube, so that was the end of pregnancy number three."
A doctor eventually determined she had just a 2 percent chance of getting pregnant on her own.
"She would really recommend, because of the losses, the IVF, so that's what we decided to do," Katy Dahle said.
The procedure can cost as much as $25,000 and isn't usually covered by insurance. The Dahles decided a GoFundMe page might get them to their goal much sooner.
"I'm a little bit more stoic -- the German in me -- but I was thinking if it was my friend going through it, I would want to contribute if I could," Dahle said.
This year alone, more than 3,000 people have created a GoFundMe page to collect donations to either IVF or adoption. More than $6 million has been raised so far this year to cover the cost of starting or adding to their families.
"There're so many people out there with similar stories," Dan Dahle said.
The Dahles are one of 60 couples in the Minneapolis area looking for help. So far, they've raised more than $15,000.
Now, Katy Dahle will be able to complete the final part of the IVF process by year's end.
"Our future children are so loved and they're so loved before they were even conceived," Katy Dahle said.
GoFundMe deducts a 5 percent processing fee from each donation. The website focuses on personal campaign donations, mostly from family and friends. Kickstarter is the other well-known crowdfunding company. Its focus is on creative campaigns and projects, not personal fundraising campaigns.