{"id":28071,"date":"2025-05-19T12:55:21","date_gmt":"2025-05-19T12:55:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/progyny.com\/?post_type=podcast&p=28071"},"modified":"2025-05-19T13:29:44","modified_gmt":"2025-05-19T13:29:44","slug":"episode-208","status":"publish","type":"podcast","link":"https:\/\/progyny.com\/education\/podcast\/episode-208\/","title":{"rendered":"Episode 208: Family Building Without Barriers: Maggie\u2019s Reciprocal IVF Journey"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"template":"","categories":[230,248],"tags":[231,488],"class_list":["post-28071","podcast","type-podcast","status-publish","hentry","category-education","category-lgbtq-family-building","tag-lgbtq-family-building","tag-reciprocal-ivf"],"yoast_head":"\nEpisode 208: Family Building Without Barriers: Maggie\u2019s Reciprocal IVF Journey | Progyny<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"For LGBTQ+ couples, traditional fertility coverage can leave them behind with little to no access to the actual 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discovered that her employer, Santander Bank, offered inclusive fertility benefits through Progyny and that they had something rare: options.","episode_intro_guest":"Maggie Garnsey","episode_intro_company":"Progyny Member","episode_banner_section_intro_text":"This is Infertility is a bi-weekly podcast where we fuse narrative storytelling with experience and science to give you a new perspective on what it\u2019s really like to go through a family building journey. Each episode dives into the emotional, physical, and financial burdens carried by those who experience infertility on their path to parenthood. Be it IVF, IUI, egg freezing, surrogacy, adoption, etc., the path is never the same and it can be long, painful, and lonely. It\u2019s our mission to give those struggling a platform to be heard, a community connection, and an opportunity to raise awareness of the 1 in 6 who, for many reasons, struggle with infertility.","episode_page_title":"Episode 208: Family Building Without Barriers: Maggie\u2019s Reciprocal IVF Journey ","episode_embed_code":"<iframe style=\"border: none;\" title=\"Embed Player\" src=\"https:\/\/play.libsyn.com\/embed\/episode\/id\/36595670\/height\/128\/theme\/modern\/size\/standard\/thumbnail\/yes\/custom-color\/ffffff\/time-start\/00:00:00\/playlist-height\/200\/direction\/backward\/download\/yes\/stats-code\/landing208\/font-color\/000000\" width=\"100%\" height=\"128\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe>","episode_details":"<span data-contrast=\"none\">For LGBTQ+ couples, traditional <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/progyny.com\/media-coverage\/good-ways-for-employers-to-support-lgbtq-families\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">fertility coverage can leave them behind<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\"> with little to no access to the actual coverage. Many are forced to undergo unnecessary, emotionally taxing procedures to meet outdated definitions of infertility. For Maggie and her wife, Alli, they thought they would need to pursue <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/progyny.com\/education\/iui\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">IUI<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\">, like many of their friends.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span data-contrast=\"none\">However, Maggie discovered that her employer, Santander Bank, offered <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/progyny.com\/blog\/fertility-in-the-workplace\/eliminating-barriers-to-access-with-an-inclusive-fertility-benefit\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">inclusive fertility benefits<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\"> through Progyny and that they had something rare: options.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span data-contrast=\"none\">In this episode, Maggie takes us through their family forming journey: from discovering the benefit, to forgoing healthcare through Alli\u2019s role in the military in pursuit of the best family building option. The couple opted for a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/progyny.com\/education\/reciprocal-ivf-same-sex-relationships\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">reciprocal IVF journey<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\">, where using a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/progyny.com\/education\/what-can-i-learn-about-sperm-donors-to-help-me-find-the-right-donor-for-me\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">sperm donor<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\">, Alli would retrieve eggs, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/progyny.com\/education\/pre-implantation-genetic-testing-understanding-embryo-screening\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">genetically test and freeze embryos<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\">, for Maggie to one day soon, take on the role of carrying the pregnancy.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span data-contrast=\"none\">Maggie also shares the importance of their <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/progyny.com\/blog\/fertility-family-building\/progyny-webinar-it-takes-a-village-support-on-your-family-building-journey\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">village<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\">, showing up in ways that make the journey feel a little lighter, like hosting their friends to help choose a sperm donor and consulting couples they know have been in their shoes. Maggie shares her gratitude for how seamless their journey has been thus far, and when Alli returns from her upcoming deployment, their dreams of family will soon become a reality.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span data-contrast=\"none\">For more information, visit Progyny\u2019s Podcast page and <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.progyny.com\/education\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Progyny\u2019s Education page<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\"> for more resources. Be sure to follow us on Instagram, @ThisisInfertilityPodcast and use the #ThisisInfertility. Have a question, comment, or want to share your story? Email us at <\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\"><a href=\"mailto:thisisinfertility@progyny.com\">thisisinfertility@progyny.com<\/a>.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span data-contrast=\"none\">Watch this episode on YouTube:<\/span>\r\n\r\nhttps:\/\/youtu.be\/GyHdAkXq1Ko","episode_host_image":22673,"episode_host_title":"Dan Bulger, Producer at Progyny","episode_host_bio":"Dan has been in the healthcare industry for the past ten plus years as a multimedia content producer. Better known as \u2018Video Dan\u2019 he has interviewed numerous doctors, patients and other experts in the world of fertility. He\u2019s also the producer for this podcast, This is Infertility and the producer behind the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/progyny\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-uw-rm-brl=\"exc\" aria-label=\"Progyny YouTube Channel - opens in new tab\" data-uw-rm-ext-link=\"na\">\u00a0Progyny YouTube Channel<\/a>\u00a0which features interviews with dozens of the nation\u2019s leading fertility specialists. On a personal note Dan\u2019s parents started fostering kids when he was four years old, and he considers himself a proud older brother to over 100 foster children.","episode_guest_1_image":28072,"episode_guest_1_title":"Maggie Garnsey, Progyny Member at Santander","episode_guest_1_bio":"Maggie Garnsey is a vocal proponent of LGBTQ family formation and LGBTQ benefits, having most recently supported her company in applying for and receiving a 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index. It was through this process that she first became aware of Progyny and the amazing benefits they provide, especially to LGBTQ folks. She and her wife Allison are in the middle of their reciprocal IVF process, and excited to be able to form a family in a way that feels true to them both. Maggie has worked at Santander Bank on the Corporate Social Responsibility team for 5 years and is incredibly grateful to her company for providing Progyny as a benefit. Allison is a Captain in the United States Army, having served nearly 10 years. They were married in 2023 and are excited to continue building their family through the reciprocal IVF process and will continue to advocate and talk openly about the process, in the hopes that it will make someone else\u2019s journey feel a little less daunting.","episode_guest_2_image":"","episode_guest_2_title":"","episode_guest_2_bio":"","episode_guest_3_image":"","episode_guest_3_title":"","episode_guest_3_bio":"","episode_guest_4_image":"","episode_guest_4_title":"","episode_guest_4_bio":"","episode_guest_5_image":"","episode_guest_5_title":"","episode_guest_5_bio":"","episode_music_section_links":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/progyny.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast\/28071","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/progyny.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/progyny.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/podcast"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/progyny.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28071"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progyny.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28071"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progyny.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28071"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}