Greeley Couple Turns To Crowdfunding For IVF Treatment

DENVER (CBS4) - Would you turn to online crowdfunding to pay for infertility problems? Thats exactly what more and more Americans are doing, and for some it seems to be working.

I would have never thought in a million years, this was the situation we would be in, Ashley Kondracki says. She and her husband, Phillip, live in a Colorado home they hope soon welcomes a new baby.

Phillip likes I would call them woodsman names, Ashley says.

While they may not agree just yet on a baby name, they have agreed on going public on the website GoFundMe to raise money for in-vitro fertilization.

The couple have been together for about four years. Both fresh from the military, they knew within a year of marriage they wanted children.

I just always expected to be a Father, Phillip says. But Mother Nature had other plans.

There is no chance now, Ashley says. IVF would be our only option.

Nearly a decade ago, Ashley had what was supposed to be a reversible tubal ligation, after having two children in a previous relationship. Although it was successful, she was back in the hospital in months with ovarian cysts, four surgeries and two years later.

We are down to one ovary, and no tubes, Ashley says. With the extremely high cost of IVF, the couple has turned to a crowdfunding page on GoFundMe to help pay for it.

Crowdfunding on websites like GoFundMe is a usually a way to raise money for a business venture, project or service. But now some are using it for much more personal ventures, like having children. The website even has a Babies, Kids, and Family Category, a section that reportedly has collected $4.1 million. Donations specifically for IVF campaigns is about $1.1 million. According to the website, its growing in popularity; in just the first half of 2014, donations for IVF campaigns has risen 32 percent over 2013.

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Greeley Couple Turns To Crowdfunding For IVF Treatment