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What’s your women’s health ‘thing?’
My women’s health ‘thing’ is my journey through a rare disease diagnosis, which initially threatened my ability to have children. I began exploring donor eggs as an option and was absolutely shocked by what I saw. Donors were reduced to anonymized numbers on a spreadsheet, and “priced” based on certain attributes they did or did not possess. In the experience, my sister ended up graciously donating her eggs to me. As it turns out, I was able to conceive my daughter without the help of those donated eggs, but I’ve always felt a sense of immense relief and security in knowing I have those donated eggs as a “just in case” option if I ever need them.
How has your women’s health ‘thing’ affected you throughout your life?
Seeing how transactional, sterile, and quite frankly, icky, the standard process of finding an egg donor can be gave me immediate clarity that I needed to build something meaningful to rewrite the experience for others, which led to the birth of Cofertility. We’re pioneering a unique human-first, no cash-compensation egg donation matching platform that prioritizes support, transparency, and ethics for all parties involved. In doing so we make egg freezing more accessible in the process.
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What advice would you give to someone dealing with your same women’s health ‘thing?’
Do not hesitate to be proactive in seeking reproductive care and knowing your options early. It is something you should feel empowered to do so you can continue to make informed decisions later in life. At Cofertility we believe everyone should have the right to be experts of their own fertility.
Tell us how your women’s health ‘thing’ shaped your business, the business you’ve helped start, or your career trajectory.
I had seen first hand how egg donation and freezing were financially, emotionally and physically taxing. The whole system felt antiquated. I wanted a better system for women who were freezing their eggs, intended parents using donor eggs, and people who are donor-conceived.
How has your women’s health ‘thing’ shaped your life?
I recently read Worthy by Jamie Kern Lima, where she talks about how your setbacks in life are really your setups. I’m lucky enough to look at my disease that way now - ultimately it helped inspire the work I get to do everyday.