Fertility Europe Meeting – March 2010, Vienna

Asociatia SOS Infertilitatea /

SOS Infertility Association, Romania.

Date of establishment – 19 October 2009 (the members started the activity in 2008 as an Initiative Group).

Patients Association.

10 volunteers working for the organization;

no employees.

3 board members (expertise in Finances,PR, Quality Assurance in Biotechnologies) and 7 members in advisory board (expertise in IT, Law, Finances, Media Monitoring, Languages, Political Science); all of them are patients representatives.

There are not other similar organizationsin our country.

Membership type: patients (women and men); the annual fee is 0,25 €; the association has 41 members (on 1st of March 2010).

We received support from: the Romanian Embryologists Association and the Romanian Society for Reproductive Medicine.

Visitors on our website/month: >10.000

Annual budget and breakdown of income from:

Membership 10% Private donations 90% Other – Fundraising campaign 2010 “2% for the combat against the infertility”

2009 budget = 300 €

There isn’t a law related to human assisted reproduction and embryology in Romania and health assurances don’t cover the infertility treatments. An important objective of our Association is to carry out actions of civil society and group interest, meant to contribute to the initiation of a legal framework. Work in progress.

As a consequence of our actions, the Ministry of Health announced the initiation of a pilot programme with the purpose that state supports the necessary costs for IVF procedures for a total of 250 young infertile couples, in 2010.

Patients forum: >3000 visitors per month, 313 users Media campaign “The infertility is a medical condition” on radio and television, written media, online media Articles in newspapers and periodicals (central or regional), news, press coverages, talk shows Newsletter – twice a month Posters Leaflets Brochures

At political/state level - meetings and correspondence on regular basis with state representatives and political figures who show interest in the subject of infertility

“The infertility is a medical condition”- media campaign

Events participation - in the field of health and civil society

Lobbying campaign for our cause - the Romanian members of the European Parliament

The newest project : counselling for patients

“The infertility - medical advices online for patients”

with the volunteer support of 15 medical specialists

Current biggest challenge - to achieve a legal framework regarding infertility and human assisted reproduction in Romania and to obtain support from Romanian state for couples facing fertility problems and finance them for the fertility treatments.

Biggest success – until 2008 the “infertility” was a taboo subject in Romania; now, due to our actions, is on civil society, media, political and

public agenda.

Infertility is a medical condition!

Having a child should not be a luxury!