The process of starting a family through alternative fertility methods is complex, expensive, and very time-intensive, but more families are being made this way than ever before. Finding a donor can take a year in some cases and, depending on the circumstances, conceiving through IVF or other methods can cost a fortune in addition to the mental and emotional toll of the journey.
Zeta Fertility Network was launched in early 2020, just a couple of weeks before North America went into lockdown due to COVID-19. Despite the ongoing pandemic, Zeta went live with the mission of making alternative fertility methods more affordable and accessible and with the hope that on the other side of all the uncertainty and worry would be new possibilities for happiness and fulfillment.
Zeta’s mission is to make alternative fertility more affordable and accessible. The app let’s anyone sign up and match with others who want to help start a family.
“I had thought about Zeta for many years before deciding to make it real. With the number of same-sex marriages and infertility rates both climbing, the timing felt right, and I knew it had the potential to make so many people happy. I looked back at the things I’d done in my career so far, and nothing had brought me fulfillment like the brief time I had at my first job after college, helping families and couples. I made Zeta purely out of instinct that it could do good for the world,” according to company founder Anthony Randazzo.
The company’s main product is a mobile app that matches prospective parents with sperm or egg donors and the fertility clinics needed to help start families. Unlike traditional donor agencies that can charge up to $5,000 for matchmaking services, Zeta allows prospective parents to find a donor for the cost of a dating app. Designed to be a low-pressure and comforting experience, the company wants those using the app to feel empowered and supported.
The app brings prospective parents, donors, and fertility clinics onto one platform. Matchmaking algorithms quickly solve the logistical problem of locating a donor with specific qualities, in a particular geographic location, who is available during the needed time frame.
Processes that were traditionally done in a clinic can now be completed through the Zeta app. Registering as a potential donor takes a few minutes. Donors provide a written biography for prospective parents as well as a detailed photo album including images of the donor throughout the donor’s life. After their application is reviewed and approved, the donor’s profile becomes searchable to prospective parents who are on the app as well.
Prospective parents have access to all the donors who have registered for Zeta and can use the app anonymously until they feel the need to disclose their identity to their potential donor. To further improve privacy, prospective parents can only be messaged by a donor if they have messaged the donor first. Messaging through the app is a convenient and simple way to plan the next steps directly with the potential donor.
