University of Iowa expertise in treating infertility will be featured in an episode of "The Fertility Chase" Saturday, May 8, at 7:30 a.m. on the Women's Entertainment (WE) Network (check local listings for channel availability in your area).
Infertility affects nearly 12 percent of the reproductive-age population in the United States. The May 8 episode focuses on experts and patients at the Center for Advanced Reproductive Care at UI Hospitals and Clinics, which is considered a leader in single-embryo transfers through in vitro fertilization (IVF). The program is affiliated with UI Women's Health.
In IVF, a woman's eggs are fertilized by sperm in a lab dish. The resulting embryo or embryos then are placed in the woman's womb. Research shows that single-embryo transfer contributes significantly to the health and safety of mother and child, and helps keep overall insurance and health care costs lower.
The University's IVF program has had a single-embryo transfer policy in place since 2004. The program consistently has success rates in the top 5 percent nationally.
As of June 2009, the IVF program at the UI had delivered 3,635 live babies, with an increasing number of babies being born after single-embryo transfer.
Currently, 65 percent of women who undergo single-embryo transfer at the UI deliver a child, said Bradley Van Voorhis, MD, director of the UI's In Vitro Fertilization Program.
"We were delighted to share through 'The Fertility Chase' program our expertise in IVF. Single-embryo transfers can be very successful, and it has become the goal of many practitioners to follow our model at the University of Iowa and help families have one healthy baby at a time," Van Voorhis said.
For women younger than age 38, the program used at the UI promotes single-embryo transfers rather than multiple-embryo transfers. Women age 38 and older, and younger women who have exceptional circumstances, can have more than one embryo transferred.
In addition to its Iowa City center, UI Health Care also has a Center for Reproductive Care in the Quad Cities.
|
