Turning to web for help with fertility

Couples who can’t afford IVF opting for crowdfunding

When people struggle to reproduce, they’re often willing to pay a lot for a helping hand. Some use credit cards, 401(k)s and even loans to pay for in vitro fertilization, or IVF, which can cost as much as $12,000 for each round.

The newest way to fund the family unit is to ask strangers. Crowdfunding has become a popular mechanism for many couples who can’t afford the high costs of IVF, or adoption and surrogacy.

“It’s not an easy thing to share publicly,” said Crystal Barrett, 33, who used YouCaring.com to raise money for medications and other costs while undergoing several cycles of IVF treatment. “But my husband and I were kind of between a rock and a hard place.”

Within 45 days of posting their cash goal in December, she and husband Josh reached their target of $1,500. She is now six months pregnant.

Funding for IVF has become a robust category at GoFundMe.com, where more than $3.6 million has been raised across more than 1,700 IVF campaigns, with almost 37,000 individual donations. Total IVF gifts and campaigns have increased every year since the company’s launch in 2010. On GiveForward.com, the category that includes both IVF and adoptions is the fastest growing, up 429 percent over the first eight months of this year compared with the same period in 2015, according to Josh Chapman, the company’s CEO.