RESOLVE Pairs With "Apprentice" Star Bill Rancic to Raise Awareness of Embryo Donation With Destination: Family Campaign

Campaign Helps to Shed Light on Options for Couples Struggling with Infertility

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Jun 13, 2011, 08:00 ET

MCLEAN, Va., June 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- As the nation's oldest and largest patient organization devoted to improving the lives of women and men living with infertility, RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association (RESOLVE) has partnered with Bill Rancic, The Apprentice Season One winner, on a public education campaign, Destination: Family that will raise awareness about embryo donation. The campaign is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110613/NY18231 )

Embryo donation is a little known option for women and men who are trying to start a family but are having difficulty. One in eight U.S. couples of childbearing age is diagnosed with infertility. Some patients need advanced medical treatment for their infertility, such as in vitro fertilization (IVF). In fertility clinics across the country, unused frozen embryos have been stored for couples or individuals who have undergone IVF. Most individuals who have embryos in storage plan to use them for future family building efforts, but for those who choose not to use the embryos, they may consider other options for their embryos including donation of the embryos to another couple.

"I'm honored to partner with RESOLVE and help couples struggling with infertility realize that there are other options out there to help build your family," said Rancic. Bill and wife Giuliana, E! host and stars of Giuliana and Bill on The Style Network, are publicly dealing with their own infertility.

Barbara Collura, Executive Director of RESOLVE, said, "RESOLVE is very excited to have Bill Rancic be a part of our Destination: Family campaign to help raise awareness of embryo donation as an option to couples who are facing infertility. There are many ways to build a family so it's important to speak with your doctor to understand which option is best for you".

The Destination: Family campaign is a multimedia resource for couples offering potential embryo recipients and donors information on the medical, legal and mental health issues surrounding embryo donation. The site also offers personal testimonials of women whose family building journeys included embryo donation. Additional information can be found on RESOLVE's Facebook group and Destination: Family's Twitter community, (@MyDestFamily).

Embryo donation is one path to building a family; to learn more, visit www.mydestinationfamily.org. For information on all family building options including fertility treatments, third-party reproduction, adoption and childfree living visit, www.RESOLVE.org.

About RESOLVE

Established in 1974, RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association is a non-profit organization with the only established, nationwide network mandated to promote reproductive health and to ensure equal access to all family building options for men and women experiencing infertility or other reproductive disorders. One in eight U.S. couples of childbearing age is diagnosed with infertility. RESOLVE addresses this public health issue by providing community to these women and men, connecting them with others who can help, empowering them to find resolution and giving voice to their demands for access to all family building options. For more information, visit www.RESOLVE.org.

About the Grant

This public service awareness campaign is made possible by Grant EAAPA081008-03-00 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of HHS.

The Office of Population Affairs (OPA), within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH) is responsible for administering the embryo donation public awareness campaign grants and cooperative agreements, which have the shared goal of increasing public awareness of embryo donation.

SOURCE RESOLVE