IVF Grant

Family Planning can be extremely complicated and burdensome for people with cystic fibrosis.

Most men with cystic fibrosis face infertility (97-98%) due to congenital absence of the vas deferens (CAVD) and require assisted reproductive technology in order to have biological children. Women with cystic fibrosis face several issues that hinder fertility and pregnancy, including thicker cervical mucus, irregular ovulation, and increased risk of gestational diabetes. People with cystic fibrosis who are post-transplant must also confront numerous barriers to family building, including the risk of anti-rejection medications causing birth defects. A decade ago, the life expectancy of someone with CF was 38 years – today it is 53 years. As such, the demand for family-building resources is high, as the adult CF population is finally finding themselves healthy enough to engage in this part of life.

Unsurprisingly, the greatest barrier to family building in the CF community is often cost. Fertility treatments come with an exorbitant price tag, and these costs are often unsurmountable on top of a family’s typical CF-related expenses.

The Boomer Esiason Foundation is proud to announce the launch of the BEF IVF Grant Program. The BEF IVF Grant Program is dedicated to ensuring that adults with CF who are challenged in their family building journey have financial resources to utilize assisted reproductive technology. BEF has partnered with Kindbody and Boston IVF to facilitate the delivery of IVF services to grant awardees. 

BEF IVF owes its success to the generous support of numerous donors, with special gratitude extended to the Caruso Family Foundation.  It is their remarkable generosity that made the triumphant launch of this program possible in 2023.

Round four of IVF applications open up on September 23rd, 2024 and will close on November 1st, 2024.

APPLY NOW

Eligibility Checklist

 I (or my partner) am an adult with cystic fibrosis
 I (or my partner) have a diagnosis of infertility
 I am US citizen or legal permanent resident of the US
 I (or my partner) am employed full-time
 I (and my partner) am 25 years old or older
 I (and my partner) am under 55 years old
 I do not have biological children (adult with CF must not have biological children)
 I have health insurance coverage
 I do not have insurance coverage for IVF
 I have annual household income less than $250,000
 I am willing to initiate IVF treatments within 4 months if awarded grant
 I am able to receive IVF treatments at Boston IVF or one of Kindbody’s 28 locations

Application at a Glance

  • Demographic information
  • Video essay/personal statement
  • Medical release consenting to contact and updates between BEF and Kindbody
  • Media release giving BEF permission to use applicant’s story for marketing and fundraising
    purposes
  • Background check authorization
  • Most recent tax filings (IRS Form 1040) *to be provided within 2 weeks after notification of
    winning award
  • Signed background check disclosure authorization
  • Proof of CF diagnosis from CF doctor
  • Proof of infertility diagnosis from CF doctor or reproductive endocrinologist
  • A copy of both sides of applicant and partner’s insurance cards
APPY NOW

FAQS

IVF costs about $12,000-$14,000 for one cycle.

An IVF grant is one-time financial assistance that covers the costs associated with in-vitro
fertilization (IVF), a type of assisted reproductive technology necessary for many people with
CF.

Check the above eligibility requirements section.

The BEF IVF grant recipients are chosen via a combination of random selection and verification. 
The recipients are first selected randomly and subsequently verified that they followed all the
directions for the application, meet the criteria, and demonstrated effort in the application. The
recipient must also not have insurance covering IVF.

Our goal is to distribute grants two times yearly, based on availability of funds.

The number of grants awarded will vary based on number of applicants and availability of
funds.

BEF will send the grant directly to the awardee’s Kindbody clinic. BEF will not send funds
directly to recipients.

The grant covers the primary processes of one IVF cycle, including provider consultations once IVF cycle has commenced, in-
house monitoring, egg retrieval, ICSI, biopsy of embryos for PGT, up to 2 embryo transfers, and
cryopreservation.

The grant does not cover medications, outside monitoring, genetic testing, sperm extractions,
donor egg, donor sperm, gestational surrogacy, preimplantation genetic testing, travel to the
fertility clinic, obstetric care, and other services that may not be listed here.

The grant does not cover fertility medications at this time, although BEF is working to establish
partnerships with pharmaceuticals in order to provide medication discounts.

Once approved for the grant, arrangements for use must be made within 4 months or the grant
can be withdrawn.

In accordance with standards set by the Society of Reproductive Specialists, we accept no
applications from those age 55 or over.

At this time, only those without biological children are eligible for the grant.

Grant applicants must have an annual household income less than $250,000.

Yes. Applicants must provide proof of medical insurance. However, many providers do not
cover fertility treatments.

Yes. Applicants must provide proof of cystic fibrosis diagnosis from a CF doctor and proof of
infertility from a CF doctor or reproductive endocrinologist (may be in the same letter).

No, the grant does not cover surrogacy.

Applicants will be notified via email approximately 4-6 weeks after the application deadline. BEF
staff may reach out to applicants via email, phone, or zoom if more information is needed.
While you may contact BEF staff during the deliberation period at any time at
families@esiason.org, please know that we cannot provide updates on grant status other than
confirming receipt of paperwork.

Yes, applicants who are not awarded the grant in one cycle may apply during the next cycle.
Applicants who meet all eligibility requirements but are not randomly selected to be awarded
the grant will be favored in the following cycle if they apply again. Because circumstances can
change monthly, applicants must submit a new application for each round of consideration. BEF
does not keep records of applicants information from data encrypted application software in
order to protect applicant privacy.

No.

No, there is no fundraising obligation for applicants or recipients. However, applicants are
strongly encouraged to sign a media release giving BEF permission to use their story to raise
awareness and funding for CF-related infertility and family-building.

You can find information on infertility at resolve.org and information on CF-specific infertility at
CFF.org.

Yes, though considerations may be made in special circumstances.

Grant awardees may choose to seek IVF treatment at any Kindbody fertility clinic locations.
Kindbody currently has 28 locations across the United States and is continuously adding more
locations.