Partnership Reaffirms Commitment to Support Fertility Challenges Faced by Military Members
Legacy (YC S’19), the premier digital fertility clinic for men, today announced a new partnership with the Military Family Building Coalition (MFBC) to support America’s Naval Special Warfare Community (NSW) to address challenges military members face in their journey to parenthood due to service, while providing vital access to family planning care and services. Legacy’s philanthropic offer to NSW operators (including SEALs, Special Warfare Combatant Craft Crewman and Explosive Ordnance Demolition personnel) gives military members free access to Legacy’s privacy-protected, at-home sperm testing with one year of complimentary cryopreservation service. The partnership begins July 1 and demonstrates Legacy’s commitment to addressing fertility challenges faced by active military, veterans and family members.
Legacy’s partner MFBC is the first organization exclusively dedicated to supporting active duty military with challenges to fertility and family building. Through this unique collaboration between a non-profit and a rapidly growing start-up, the two organizations are taking action on the important need for frequently deploying troops to preserve their fertility, as Congress has struggled to pass funding for this essential care. The NSW community represents a military group with an amplified need for this program launch due to their challenging warfare demands and operational tempo. Fertility and family building challenges include exposures that can impact fertility, such as environmental chemicals and general warfare risks, as well as frequent separations from partners and families.
Legacy’s commitment to military service members is inspired, in large part, by Secretary Ash Carter’s “Force of the Future Program” which recognized the importance of enhanced fertility benefits, to include sperm and egg freezing. The program was designed to offer troops both “peace of mind” and “greater flexibility” should they look to start families in the future. The Legacy team, which includes John Crowley as Head of Military Affairs, is working alongside non-profit partner, MFBC, to ensure that DNA cryopreservation is made available to every service member.
Legacy’s work in this space is especially timely given the recent introduction of the Veteran Families Health Services Act of 2021. The bill, introduced by Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and Representative Rick Larsen (D-WA), seeks to expand servicemembers’ and veterans’ fertility treatments, to include in vitro fertilization and counseling.
“We believe reproductive health is an important component of military readiness and, consequently, a matter of national security,” said John Crowley. “We’re grateful for the opportunity to support Naval Special Warfare with this program.”
“I’m very grateful to Legacy for the cryopreservation services they will be providing to the Naval Special Warfare (NSW) community in collaboration with the Military Family Building Coalition”, said Rear Admiral Brian Hendrickson, a retired US Navy SEAL. “Legacy’s ability to offer this kind of program to NSW operators in a way that accounts for their unique operational security and privacy concerns is a wonderful benefit,” Brian, who is also a Military Family Building Coalition board member, continued. “The family I have today is the result of cryopreservation; I personally understand the value that Legacy’s generous support is bringing to our military members and families. Thank you!”
HOW LEGACY WORKS: PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
Legacy’s mail-in kit revolutionizes the traditional process for males, making sperm analysis and storage easier, more convenient, and affordable from the comfort of your home. It’s simple—no liquid nitrogen, pipettes, or clunky shipping tanks required. This allows men to get information about their sperm without awkwardly needing to visit an expensive clinic or specialty lab.
A Legacy test kit is shipped directly to the client to produce a sample in the privacy of their home before sending it back for clinical-level analysis, now with the option to test sperm DNA fragmentation. Each client receives a full fertility report that analyzes volume, count, concentration, motility, and morphology, as well as the option to freeze their deposit at world-class cryogenic storage facilities. A process that was once anxiety ridden is now stress free, easy and empowering. For more information visit How It Works.
