John Smothers is 71-year-old businessman, and today he's telling us about the difficulties he and his wife had building their family in the late 70s and early 80s, when ART hadn't really been developed yet, and it was all very "hush hush." It took John and his wife, Gayle, 7 years to have their first child, due to Gayle's endometriosis. But the trauma of infertility lived on. When Gayle died of breast cancer in 2018, one of the last things she said to him was, “Do whatever you can to help those couples.” He began investigating ways to improve the collection of human sperm, and today, John has helped create ProteX, the first and only product designed specifically for semen collection to aid in fertility treatment. TOPICS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:Infertility; IUIs; IVF; endometriosis; breast cancer; semen samples; sperm motility; sperm health; assisted reproductive technology. EPISODE SPONSORS:FERTILITY RALLY, @fertilityrallyNo one should go through infertility alone. Join the Worst Club with the Best Members at fertilityrally.com. We offer support groups, private Facebook groups, curated events, and an entire of more than 300 women available to support you, no matter where you are in your journey. Doors open the 1st of every month. See more on our IG @fertilityrallyBELI @beli.babyBeli is formulated with the right nutrients to help boost your fertility, increase egg quality and support IVF to increase your chances of conception and a healthy pregnancy. To get started with Beli, go to belibaby.com and use code ALI15 for 15% off your first month of either Beli Women or Beli Men.Support this podcast at:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/infertileafhttps://redcircle.com/infertile-af/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacySupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/infertile-af-infertility-and-modern-family-building-through-art/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy