Gay couple seek $25,000 in crowdfunding for IVF as they are desperate to have children and start a family
A young gay couple from New Zealand desperately wants to start a family and they have launched a crowdfunding appeal to pay for their in-vitro fertilization treatment (IVF).
Ryan Curran, 27, and his partner Jerome Pacquing, 25, from Tauranga, New Zealand have been able to arrange for an egg donor and also a surrogate to carry the baby, but they still need another $25,000 for IVF, consultation, and all necessary approvals. Speaking about the process, Curran told Daily Mail Australia that he found the entire process quite frustrating and complicated, "Mainly because there is so much invested, both emotionally and financially. However, our desire to have children outweighs all of that."
One cycle of IVF and embryo transfer can reportedly cost between $11,000 and $17,000. At the same time, if the transfer isn't successful the first time around, the process has to be repeated. Curran and Pacquing, being a same-sex couple, don't have access to publicly funded fertility treatments, so they have had to opt for the fundraising site Givealittle for help. Married for more than a year now, the couple said they have also looked into fostering and adoption both nationally and internationally as well.
"We are very happy to do adoption however we know that the number of children adopted out in NZ is very little and many people wait years before being considered," Curran told the outlet, adding: "International adoption isn’t an option for us as all countries that adopt out to NZ do not allow adoption to same-sex couples." The couple work in the healthcare and the tourism industries. It was upon being advised by the Oranga Tamariki, a New Zealand government department responsible for looking after the well-being of children, that they decided to try IVF first.
"If it is successful, then we have to go through an adoption process to adopt the baby from the surrogate," he said. He also mentioned that seven same-sex male couples in New Zeland already have children through IVF. "One of them is Tamati Coffey who is a New Zealand politician," Curran said, adding: "I believe that it wasn’t easy for any of them as they had to go through all the legal requirements of IVF, surrogacy, and adoption." If they aren't able to raise the money, the couple said they will resort to their own savings. "This just means that we would have to wait longer which is okay,' Curran said.