Couple uses TikTok to raise money for IVF. Here's how they did it
One couple is letting TikTok pick out the name of their baby after turning to the social media app to help fund in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments to grow their family.
Mark and Lucy Brown, of North Yorkshire, England, are trying for their second child and have turned to the popular social media app to have their followers name their baby.
"We've told everyone they can decide [what] the baby's gonna be called, within reason," Mark told "Good Morning America." "I've seen some crazy names out there."
The couple's pregnancy journey has been a rollercoaster. When they decided to plan for a baby in 2018, it proved to be more difficult than they expected and they decided to try in vitro fertilisation (IVF).
"We had an interview with the people in the hospital and he said, the chances of getting pregnant naturally [are] 1 to 8% -- very, very slim,” Mark said. "So he was like, what do we do now? So we said, right, we just did it. Let's just do it. Two rounds of IVF and the rest is history."
Mark and Lucy said they had several miscarriages. When Lucy, 41, lost her baby again in January 2020, she and Mark documented the experience on TikTok. That post was watched nearly 50,000 times.
In the United States, the average cost of one in vitro fertilization, or IVF, cycle is $12,400, according to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.
Overall, the couple spent $20,000 on IVF treatments. But on the next round, they spent nothing.
Mark, who runs a TikTok account, @RightGuysReview, where he’s garnered more than 677,000 followers by reviewing products and more, joined the TikTok creator fund, which allows users to make money off their viral clips.
By joining the creator fund, the couple made $6,000 letting their followers in on every detail of their fertility journey.
"We had a duty to share because the viewers have funded it with their time," Mark said. "I think time is the most precious thing in life."
To say thank you to their followers, Mark said he and his wife are letting TikTok choose their baby's name. In a TikTok post shared this week, Mark thanked all his followers for helping his family.
"I just want to say a massive thank you to all of you. This is what you produced," he said, pointing to his wife's sonogram. "I told you, views equals IVF. If anyone wants to get something you really want on TikTok, get on the creator fund and get your dreams. It took a long time -- 250 million views it took us to get this."
