Shady Grove Fertility and Cade Foundation grant help paralyzed patient and wife deliver healthy baby boy

Cade Foundation Grant Provided Funds for Family-Building Procedure

Shady Grove Fertility Center is pleased to announce the birth of Collin James Sharp, born December 8, 2010 to Jennifer and David Sharp of Richmond, VA.  The 7 lb. 15 oz baby boy's birth was made possible through a partnership of Shady Grove Fertility and the Cade Foundation.  

"We have been blessed beyond our imagination," says Jennifer. "I've always wanted children. Financial assistance from the Cade Foundation and advanced treatment options from Shady Grove Fertility made it possible for us to realize our greatest hope."  

David was paralyzed in a motorcycle accident at 19 years of age. When he and Jennifer married, they knew they would face obstacles in building their family. After adopting a son from China, they were hesitant to pursue fertility treatments to have a biological child because of the costs involved.

The Cade Foundation's Family Building Grant provides up to $10,000 to help needy families pay for fertility treatment or adoption services.  Of the 121 Cade Foundation applicants in 2009, Jennifer and David were chosen along with five others to receive the grant.

David and Jennifer started their first In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) cycle with Dr. Rachana Garde of Shady Grove Fertility's Woodbridge, VA location in February of 2010. First, David's sperm had to be surgically retrieved. Then, a single sperm was injected directly into the center of Jennifer's egg by a process known as Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI). The resulting embryo was later transferred to Jennifer.

"Jennifer and David were perfect candidates for IVF treatment with ICSI," says Dr. Garde. "The process allows couples with low sperm count or poor quality sperm to achieve pregnancy rates equal to traditional IVF rates. The result is exactly what we hoped for, and we are thrilled to welcome their new son into the Shady Grove Fertility family."

"Our grant recipients would likely not have had the opportunity to become parents without assistance from an organization like the Cade Foundation," says Dr. Frank Chang, Shady Grove Fertility reproductive endocrinologist and Cade Foundation Board Member. "The Foundation operates on the belief that cost should never prevent a couple who is able to love and care for a child from having the opportunity."