Big win in Georgia! On May 1, 2025, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed HB 94 into law, requiring state-regulated commercial health insurance plans in Georgia to cover medically necessary fertility preservation for cancer, sickle cell disease and lupus patients. It is estimated that approximately 1.8 million Georgia residents have individual, small and large group health…Details
On Friday, the Alabama Supreme Court issued an alarming ruling, unencumbered by medical facts, that casts embryos as legally equivalent to living children. This unfortunate and uninformed ruling imperils the future of reproductive medicine, and with it, access to fertility preservation for cancer patients. When a child or young adult is diagnosed with cancer, their…Details
In a recent State of the World speech, Pope Francis deemed surrogate motherhood “despicable,” and called for a universal ban on its use. On behalf of the cancer patients and survivors we represent, the Alliance for Fertility Preservation felt compelled to respond to this declaration. First, let’s be clear — the overwhelming majority of situations involving…Details
Cancer patients across the state of Texas have just gained important protections to help safeguard their ability to become parents after cancer treatment. Led by bill authors Representative Angie Chen Button and Senator Tan Parker, HB 1649 passed the Texas House and Senate by wide margins, and Governor Greg Abbott signed the bill into law…Details
The Alliance for Fertility Preservation was founded on the premise that ability to have (biologic) children and the timing of building a family is a basic human right. We recognized that cancer patients often had to sacrifice that right because they had to undergo lifesaving treatment that might leave them sterile or significantly impair their…Details
During this uncertain and unprecedented time, the oncofertility community is working together to provide up-to-date fertility preservation information for patients and providers. We are aware of the recommendations from ASRM’s COVID-19 Task Force which suggests new IVF cycles not be initiated at this time. While this pause in services does not apply to urgent fertility preservation for patients…Details
On behalf of the Board of Directors and staff members of the Alliance for Fertility Preservation, we wanted to reach out to our community to extend our wishes for good health and solidarity at this time. Although prohibitions on large gatherings have caused us to put some of our scheduled events on hold for a…Details
The Alliance for Fertility Preservation Supports reversing the gestational surrogacy ban in New York. We want to alert you to an important advocacy event around family building. We hope you’ll either join us, help spread the word or send letters of support to your lawmakers. The New York Child-Parent Security Act In addition, AFP will…Details
The Alliance for Fertility Preservation Supports the Colorado Building Families Act We want to alert you to an important advocacy event around family building. We hope you’ll either join us, help spread the word or send letters of support to your lawmakers and representatives. The Colorado Building Families Act On Thursday, February 6th, AFP will…Details
We are excited to announce the release of new patient and expert videos on the Alliance for Fertility Preservation website! At one of our Stakeholders’ Meetings this spring in Austin, Texas, we had the opportunity to bring together patients, advocates, and healthcare providers from across the state to share ideas and experiences about cancer and…Details
The New York State Legislature and Governor Andrew Cuomo have just finalized the state’s 2020 budget, which provides for the coverage of all medically necessary fertility preservation procedures by ALL commercial insurers. It also provides for IVF coverage by large group health insurance plans. This extension of coverage marks a tremendous gain for cancer patients,…Details
Everyone knows it’s October, but did you know it’s also Eggtober? In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month, Generation Next Fertility, are offering free egg freezing cycles to 25 women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. The 25 will be picked at random at the end of October. However, even though this is in honor…Details
Recently, scientists discovered that certain treatments for cancer and sickle cell disease destroy the germ cells that eventually go on to develop into sperm in the testes of young boys. This means that the treatment, while important, and potentially lifesaving, may permanently impact their fertility should they want to have children down the road. The study was…Details
In June 2018, our Executive Director, Joyce Reinecke participated in a Webinar for the Children’s Cause for Cancer Advocacy Group. George Dahlman, the CEO of Children’s Cause for Cancer Advocacy Group described the group as, “…focused on public policy issues. While we primarily deal with Washington, there are a great many issues that can’t be…Details
The Alliance for Fertility Preservation wanted to make you aware of an important and insightful study to understand how young women who have completed cancer treatment make decisions about their fertility, reproductive health, and planning for future parenthood. This is, of course, something we’re passionate about, which is why we want to help spread the…Details
Being an advocate takes hard work and dedication. You need to be committed not just when you feel you’ve had a major accomplishment but especially when you feel like there’s still work that needs to be done. If you’re in New York and have been following the Fair Access to Fertility Treatment Act (FAFTA), you…Details
Joyce Reinecke, our Executive Director, is a guest on the fast-paced two hour Magazine-style Show, “The Popp of Show” hosted by Mary Jane Popp. In this segment, Joyce shares her own cancer diagnosis in her twenties, how it impacted her fertility and how it inspired her to become an infertility advocate for the 70,000 young…Details
One of the many objectives the Alliance for Fertility Preservation has been to share stories of those who have been diagnosed with or survived cancer and faced family-building challenges as a result. We aim to share these stories not only with other newly-diagnosed patients and survivors so they can learn about their options but also,…Details
April 22nd – April 28th is National Infertility Awareness Week (NIAW) and the theme is, “Flip the Script”. RESOLVE, the National Infertility Association, a group dedicated to ensuring that all people challenged in their family building journey reach resolution through knowledge, supported by community, united by advocacy, and inspired to act, wants to change the conversation…Details
Interview with FUTuRE FERTILITY Study and G-Force: Global Framework for Oncofertility Care The Alliance for Fertility Preservation recently had the opportunity to sit and speak with Brigitte Gerstl, the International Program Manager of FUTuRE FERTILITY Study and G-Force: Global Framework for Oncofertility care. Despite international evidence about the benefits of fertility preservation and current national…Details
Recently, our very own Jennifer Levine, contributed to an abstract on premature menopause and the reproductive implications in survivors of childhood cancer. Dr. Levine has been active in helping to standardize guidelines for fertility preservation for children, adolescents and young adults through the European Group PanCare and a member of the International Harmonization Guidelines section on female Fertility Preservation….Details
Less than half of adolescent and young adult males bank sperm before cancer treatment. We reached out to interview AFP Advisor James Klosky, PhD, a leading expert with newly published research from his work at St. Jude on the topic to learn why. When we asked Dr. Klosky, why he believes adolescent cancer patients might be opposed…Details
The Alliance for Fertility Preservation had the extreme pleasure of attending the press conference where the Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo unveiled his “Opportunity and Rights Agenda for New York’s Women and Girls, 2018.” It was a packed audience made up of some men, but mostly women at the New-York Historical Society on January…Details
Jeannine Canino Bieda – My name is Jeannine and I live in the Chicago area with my husband of 9 years. I was diagnosed with breast cancer at 36 with no family history, which changed the course of my life. I decided to share my story via social media to not only help me heal, but…Details
Risa A Levine is an attorney in private practice in New York City. She serves on the Board of Directors of RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association and advocates on behalf of fertility patients on the state and federal level. You’re 29. You eat organic eggs and salads (mostly), but love your French fries. You’re a…Details
Earlier this year, Connecticut became the first state to pass legislation that guarantees insurance coverage for standard fertility preservation services. For patients who need these services due to a medical necessity – including undergoing chemotherapy or other fertility-threatening treatments – this coverage could be life-altering. One Connecticut patient, Melissa Thompson, was the key force in getting this…Details
We are excited to announce our new website feature, Patient Voices, which shares patient and survivor experiences with cancer and fertility. If you are a patient or survivor, please share your story about how concerns about your future fertility or ability to become a parent affected you, your loved ones, your treatment decisions, your finances,…Details
Dr. Teresa K. Woodruff, PhD, Allison Goetsch, MS, CGC, and graduate student Kendra Frome, BS, have designed this survey to capture information about the fertility preservation process from an often-overlooked perspective – that of the cancer patient’s partner. Obviously, a patient’s partner has an important stake in the outcome of any fertility preservation interventions, and…Details
Cervivor School is headed to Louisville, KY! Cervivor is a 501(c)(3) organization that is dedicated to raising awareness about cervical cancer. One of its key programs is “Cervivor School.” It is a program that allows cervical cancer survivors to take their own experience and use it to help create positive change for other survivors and…Details
The Journal Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics has chosen to dedicate an issue to stories about patients and families who faced fertility issues as a result of a cancer diagnosis and treatment. Because children and young adults may have their future ability to become a parent compromised by cancer treatment, it is important that they understand…Details
The Samfund is a nonprofit organization that provides financial grants to young adult cancer survivors for a wide range of cancer-associated costs, including for reproductive services and for family building. Family building grants fall into two categories: Grants to help with the storage of eggs, embryos or sperm for the purpose of fertility preservation. These…Details
Many young adult female cancer survivors want children in the future, but, for a variety of reasons, are unable to undergo fertility preservation before treatment. For those who maintain ovarian function after treatment but are at risk for premature ovarian failure, fertility preservation after treatment may be an option. However, patients cannot avail themselves of…Details
The primary barrier for cancer patients seeking to preserve their fertility is cost. Sperm banking, embryo freezing and egg freezing cost thousands of dollars. Because these services are rarely covered by insurance, patients are typically left paying out of pocket in order to access these services. For many, especially while in the midst of a…Details
Dr. Leslie Schover, a pioneering researcher in the field of sexuality and fertility after cancer, has launched a new survey about the specific reproductive health needs of women who were diagnosed with breast cancer before menopause. Dr. Schover is conducting the survey to better understand the ongoing needs of young cancer patients for information and…Details
The Supreme Court of the United States refused to take up a case involving disputed embryos that were created for fertility preservation purposes. The case, Szafranski v. Dunston, has garnered national attention. It arose after Karla Dunston, a doctor, was diagnosed in 2009 with lymphoma. Because her course of treatment presented the risk of infertility,…Details
Young cancer survivors want to be able to have their own families after cancer treatment. For girls and young women, cancer treatments can cause infertility and early ovarian failure. But for many young survivors, there is be a window of time in which they are still fertile, which we’ll call the “reproductive window”. There isn’t…Details