It's a giveaway unlike any other.
A local fertility clinic gave away an opportunity to have a baby. Now, this so-called in-vitro fertilization lottery is the subject of a documentary on Netflix.
Patients walk through Dr. Geoffrey Sher's doors every day. Their hope is that he can help them get pregnant.
"My doctor said that the only way that we could get pregnant was with IVF. He gave us a five percent chance without it, but we cannot afford IVF," said Dianna Theyssen, one of the contest entrants in Dr. Sher's latest contest to win a free IVF treatment.
Hundreds applied to the nationwide contest, sharing their videos online. Many of their stories were heartbreaking.
Their stories were documented in the movie "Vegas Baby." That film follows several of the contest entrants. It was just released on Netflix this week.
Dr. Sher said he held the contest mostly because it's too expensive for most people to get IVF; insurance won't cover a large part of it.
"For many people, it is a life changing thing. I wish there wasn't a need for contests and seminars and free cycles," said Dr. Sher.
In the end, a panel of judges helped narrow down the pool of contestants. Only one winner was chosen. However, Dr. Sher was so moved by some of the stories, he gave away IVF treatments to three people other than the winner.
Dr. Sher is open to doing more lotteries in the future, but none are happening right now.
