Some lucky person or couple in Chattanooga may get the ultimate gift this Christmas: the gift of parenthood.
Tennessee Reproductive Medicine, a locally owned fertility clinic on Shallowford Road, is giving away a free round of IVF, a costly fertilization procedure in which an egg is combined with sperm outside the body. More than 1 million babies in the United States have been born with the help of IVF treatments.
Typically, a round of IVF costs $12,000 to $15,000 (including medications) and is not covered by health insurance, making it unaffordable for some couples. Too, multiple treatments can be needed.
But TRM physicians Dr. Jessica Scotchie and Dr. Rink Murray have arranged to give away an IVF cycle in hopes of sharing the joys of parenthood with a couple who might otherwise not be able to afford the procedure.
Mark KennedyView other columns by Mark Kennedy
The giveaway has its roots in an act of kindness about 15 years ago when Murray was a resident at University of North Carolina Hospitals. At the time, he and his wife, Kristi, were personally struggling with fertility issues.