Fertility Center of Oregon Celebrates Success of In Vitro Fertilization Lab
The state-of-the-art in vitro fertilization (IVF) lab at The Fertility Center of Oregon has achieved a remarkable 54 percent success rate in its first year of operation. According to Doug Austin, MD, that rate means that 54 percent of all couples who began the IVF program achieved pregnancy after the first try. He notes that the most recent data available—for the year 2000—show that the pregnancy rate for all IVF centers in the United States was 31.6 percent. "We’re extremely gratified to have achieved such an outstanding success rate after just one year," he says.
The lab offers convenience to women and couples in southern and central Oregon seeking IVF to achieve pregnancy. Until the opening of the new lab in 2002, those patients were required to travel to Portland for IVF. The lab makes The Fertility Center of Oregon the only advanced infertility center in the state outside of Portland. Dr. Austin, a board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist, is the only Oregon physician south of Portland to specialize in reproductive endocrinology. He is especially sensitive to the emotional aspects of infertility, since he and his wife were successfully treated for infertility issues and are the proud parents of an eight-year-old son.
In vitro fertilization offers a chance at parenthood to couples who until recently would have had no hope of having a "biologically related" child. IVF can be used successfully in situations where women have blocked, severely damaged or absent fallopian tubes, or where men have low sperm counts. IVF is also successful in overcoming severe endometriosis, ovulatory abnormalities and unexplained infertility.
IVF is a method of assisted reproduction in which the woman takes fertility drugs to stimulate many eggs developing at one time. The eggs are then removed through the vagina in a minimally invasive procedure. Once removed, the eggs are mixed with sperm outside the body in a laboratory dish ("in vitro" is Latin for "in glass"). After about 18 hours, the eggs are examined to see if they’ve become fertilized by the sperm and are growing into embryos. In three to six days, two to four of the embryos are then placed in the woman’s uterus through her cervix, thus bypassing the fallopian tubes.
The IVF lab at The Fertility Center of Oregon has a full complement of medical and support services, including an embryologist and his assistant, a nurse practitioner, psychology consultants, and medical staff from the Center for Genetics and Maternal Fetal Medicine for issues concerning genetics.
"Essentially, there is no reproductive challenge that can’t be overcome with IVF," explains Dr. Austin. "Sterilization of one or both partners, post-reproductive age women requiring anonymous or known egg donors, and severe male factor infertility are just a few of the issues we can successfully remedy."
Greg and Holly Hernandez are expecting their first child this year as a result of in vitro fertilization. "When we found out we could have the whole in vitro series at The Fertility Center of Oregon instead of driving to Portland it was the best news we could have gotten, because we’d become very attached to the staff there," says Holly. "The entire staff made us very comfortable. They got to know us personally and were in tune with all the emotional issues involved with trying to get pregnant. We really felt at home there. We can’t say enough good things about them or thank them enough."
The lab offers convenience to women and couples in southern and central Oregon seeking IVF to achieve pregnancy. Until the opening of the new lab in 2002, those patients were required to travel to Portland for IVF. The lab makes The Fertility Center of Oregon the only advanced infertility center in the state outside of Portland. Dr. Austin, a board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist, is the only Oregon physician south of Portland to specialize in reproductive endocrinology. He is especially sensitive to the emotional aspects of infertility, since he and his wife were successfully treated for infertility issues and are the proud parents of an eight-year-old son.
In vitro fertilization offers a chance at parenthood to couples who until recently would have had no hope of having a "biologically related" child. IVF can be used successfully in situations where women have blocked, severely damaged or absent fallopian tubes, or where men have low sperm counts. IVF is also successful in overcoming severe endometriosis, ovulatory abnormalities and unexplained infertility.
IVF is a method of assisted reproduction in which the woman takes fertility drugs to stimulate many eggs developing at one time. The eggs are then removed through the vagina in a minimally invasive procedure. Once removed, the eggs are mixed with sperm outside the body in a laboratory dish ("in vitro" is Latin for "in glass"). After about 18 hours, the eggs are examined to see if they’ve become fertilized by the sperm and are growing into embryos. In three to six days, two to four of the embryos are then placed in the woman’s uterus through her cervix, thus bypassing the fallopian tubes.
The IVF lab at The Fertility Center of Oregon has a full complement of medical and support services, including an embryologist and his assistant, a nurse practitioner, psychology consultants, and medical staff from the Center for Genetics and Maternal Fetal Medicine for issues concerning genetics.
"Essentially, there is no reproductive challenge that can’t be overcome with IVF," explains Dr. Austin. "Sterilization of one or both partners, post-reproductive age women requiring anonymous or known egg donors, and severe male factor infertility are just a few of the issues we can successfully remedy."
Greg and Holly Hernandez are expecting their first child this year as a result of in vitro fertilization. "When we found out we could have the whole in vitro series at The Fertility Center of Oregon instead of driving to Portland it was the best news we could have gotten, because we’d become very attached to the staff there," says Holly. "The entire staff made us very comfortable. They got to know us personally and were in tune with all the emotional issues involved with trying to get pregnant. We really felt at home there. We can’t say enough good things about them or thank them enough."
