Tag Archives: IVF
09.30.2011
Become an Advocate for Infertility Benefits
R. Ian Hardy, M.D., Ph.D. Board-Certified Reproductive Endocrinologist, Medical Director
In 1987, the Massachusetts state legislature mandated that certain infertility benefits be provided by commercial insurers. This notable achievement was accomplished in large part due to the efforts of Resolve, a non-profit patient advocacy organization. Resolve, founded in Massachusetts in 1974, is now a national organization that continues to provide education, support and advocacy for infertile [...]
09.15.2011
Family Building for Same Sex Couples
Joseph A. Hill, III, M.D. Board-Certified in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility
Family building options for same sex couples include adoption, foster care, embryo adoption, surrogacy, donor sperm insemination (DI), donor oocyte with gestational carrier, and shared maternity. For male same sex couples the best option to achieve parenthood is a gestational carrier with an oocyte donor using sperm from either or both partners separately to inseminate [...]
09.08.2011
Progesterone Support in IVF
Joseph A. Hill, III, M.D. Board-Certified in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility
Progesterone is critical for the establishment and continuation of a successful pregnancy. Exogenous progesterone has been given in IVF since IVF’s inception. The reason was thought to be due to the removal of cells from the ovary that produced progesterone at the time of egg retrieval. Later when IVF cycle stimulation included drugs such as [...]
02.17.2011
DONOR OOCYTE PART V
R. Ian Hardy, M.D., Ph.D. Board-Certified Reproductive Endocrinologist, Medical Director
After the birth of a child is achieved from donor oocyte IVF, parents often ask what they should tell or reveal to their child in later years. The Ethics Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) has previously recommended that disclosure is ‘‘ultimately the choice of recipient parents’’ but that ‘‘disclosure to off-spring [...]
02.10.2011
DONOR OOCYTE PART IV
R. Ian Hardy, M.D., Ph.D. Board-Certified Reproductive Endocrinologist, Medical Director
Selection criteria for an oocyte donor are personal and couple-dependent. Some medical parameters may influence a couple’s decision when narrowing their choice from a group of acceptable donors. The donor’s age may be one such variable. In one reported study, for every year increase in donor age, the number of mature oocytes decreased by 0.39 [...]
02.03.2011
DONOR OOCYTE PART III
R. Ian Hardy, M.D., Ph.D. Board-Certified Reproductive Endocrinologist, Medical Director
If a couple decides to pursue donor oocyte IVF, it is important to insure that other clinical components of the process are in good working order. This includes the function and genetic make-up of the sperm as well as the integrity of the recipient’s uterine environment and surrounding hormones. Transferring a donor oocyte embryo to [...]
01.27.2011
DONOR OOCYTE PART II
R. Ian Hardy, M.D., Ph.D. Board-Certified Reproductive Endocrinologist, Medical Director
Taking the clinical step to donor oocyte is a very big step and one taken only after considerable thought and discussion. Donor oocyte is never a couple’s only option but may be the best option to achieve the goal of having a healthy child. A couple must balance what may be a very low prognosis [...]
01.20.2011
DONOR OOCYTE PART I
R. Ian Hardy, M.D., Ph.D. Board-Certified Reproductive Endocrinologist, Medical Director
In 2007, donor eggs or oocytes were used in 12% of all U.S. IVF cycles. As the name implies, donor oocyte IVF involves the use of a donated egg or oocyte (usually form a younger woman) inseminated with sperm and the resulting embryo transferred to the recipient’s uterus. The first transfer of a fertilized egg [...]
07.21.2010
Converting Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH)/Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) Cycles to In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)
R. Ian Hardy, M.D., Ph.D. Board-Certified Reproductive Endocrinologist, Medical Director
For many couples, the inability to conceive is caused by abnormal or absent ovulation. Normal ovulation involves the natural recruitment of an egg that has been hibernating in the ovary since before birth. Ovulatory dysfunction is often corrected with hormonal medication which stimulates the ovary to ovulate. The hormone used is follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) [...]
06.11.2010
What is a Fertility Specialist?
Joseph A. Hill, III, M.D. Board-Certified in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility
A Fertility Specialist practices in a subspecialty within Obstetrics and Gynecology called Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility. While any physician with a medical degree can claim to be a Fertility Specialist, only the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ABOG) can certify a physician in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility and only such certified Fertility Specialists can [...]
