Veterans whose injuries have caused infertility can now apply for reduced-cost fertility services and grants to cover related expenses under a new program administered by the Bob Woodruff Foundation.
Bob Woodruff Foundation officials said they established the fund to serve as a “bridge” for veterans who can’t wait for VA to establish a fertility program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“We have an opportunity to provide renewed hope as our service members look toward the next chapter in their lives,” co-founder Lee Woodruff said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The fertility services associations\u00a0ASRM and SART established their “Service to Veterans program” in 2015, offering deeply discounted in vitro fertilization services to affected former service members. The amount of discount is determined by each clinic, with most facilities offering at least a 50 percent discount on treatments, according to the organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
The Bob Woodruff Foundation\u2019s fund is designed to cover any unreimbursed costs for these services. Companies that contributed to the fund include Merck & Co., Ferring Pharmaceuticals, and EMD Serono, officials said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Such collaboration between a medical specialty, the pharmaceutical industry and a well-established nonprofit like the Bob Woodruff Foundation is unprecedented,” said Dr. Gilbert Mottla, a reproductive endocrinologist at Shady Grove Fertility, Annapolis, Maryland. “The effort will go a long way toward helping wounded veterans build their families.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Defense Department covers fertility services for injured troops while they are on active duty. But until the most recent legislation was passed, the VA was restricted by law from paying for or providing fertility services to their patients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n