OL Reign launches partnership with Seattle Reproductive Medicine

OL Reign today announced a new partnership with Seattle Reproductive Medicine as the club’s official fertility partner. Seattle Reproductive Medicine (SRM) will provide education and fertility care options to OL Reign players.

As the club’s official fertility partner, SRM will support OL Reign players with future fertility planning options. That includes a complimentary egg freezing educational program, as well as egg retrieval, cryopreservation and storage.

OL Reign joins the Chicago Red Stars, Houston Dash, North Carolina Courage, Portland Thorns, and Racing Louisville in offering fertility planning options to their NWSL players.

“This is a necessary partnership for our club to help elevate the standard provided for our world-class talent,” said OL Reign CEO Vincent Berthillot in a team release. “As a club, we will continue to prioritize our players’ health, safety and well-being and ensure they are wholly aware that we are here to support them throughout their journey and playing career at OL Reign. It is highly important for our club to utilize our platform to raise awareness around the topic of fertility and find ways to support the community that we proudly represent.”

In addition to the services offered to players, OL Reign will work with SRM to educate and raise awareness about reproductive health and topics related to wellness, including the benefit of freezing eggs, as it allows for future fertility options since age is considered the single most important factor affecting fertility. According to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, egg freezing typically works best for those in their 20s to early 30s.

“Seattle Reproductive Medicine is very proud to be partnering with Seattle’s women’s soccer team, our own OL Reign!” SRM Clinical Director Lindsay Nicholas said. “Like SRM, OL Reign is a mission-driven organization, taking great strides to care for their players, fans, and the community at large. We are excited to be standing with them as they do their amazing work both on and off the field.”

This isn’t SRM’s first fertility partnership with a local Seattle women’s professional sports team. In 2020, SRM partnered with the Seattle Storm to release episodic video content documenting Sue Bird and Breanna Stewart’s personal journeys in family planning.

Bird and Stewart both worked to ensure egg freezing was a covered procedure in the WNBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement that was ratified in 2020. Under the CBA, players who have played eight or more seasons can now be reimbursed up to $20,000 for costs per year directly related to adoption, surrogacy, egg freezing, or fertility treatment.