Pacific Fertility Center Showcased on BBC’s Health Check TV
San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) October 24, 2013 -- July 25th marked the 35th birthday of the world’s first “test tube baby” in the U.K. On the occasion of this significant landmark, the BBC recently visited Pacific Fertility Center (PFC) to get a glimpse of some of the more sophisticated assisted reproductive technologies that have emerged since that time.
Reporting for the BBC’s Health Check TV, Jonathan Stewart interviewed Joseph Conaghan, PhD, PFC’s laboratory director, and Philip E. Chenette, MD, fertility specialist, as well as a patient who recently had her eggs frozen using PFC’s comprehensive Fertility Preservation Program.
With PFC’s state-of-the-art laboratory as a backdrop, Jonathan Stewart described in vitro fertilization (IVF), relaying the current process of egg retrieval and fertilization, as well as the safeguarding of the embryo in an incubator, kept at constant temperatures as cells continually divide.
Dr. Conaghan told Jonathan Stewart about a groundbreaking development that PFC has been involved in from the ground up—one that has allowed medical staff to continually observe early cell development without removing embryos from the protective incubator to do spot checks. Called time-lapse imaging, this technology helps embryologists identify the healthiest embryos and early research indicates it may improve IVF success rates. The ramifications are far-reaching, said Dr. Conaghan, given that one in five embryos act abnormally in some way.
The segment also spotlighted PFC’s Fertility Preservation Program, which makes it possible for women to preserve their eggs and use them at a more convenient time for building a family. Eggs are frozen in time at their current age, increasing the odds of a successful pregnancy later in life. Although egg freezing was long labeled an experimental procedure, the American Society of Reproductive Medicine recently removed this moniker, Dr. Chenette told the BBC.
About Pacific Fertility Center
Pacific Fertility Center is an international destination for male and female fertility treatment and care. It provides an extensive array of fertility treatment options ranging from intrauterine insemination (IUI), intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and in vitro fertilization (IVF) to cutting-edge technology such as vitrification and genetic testing of embryos. For more information: http://www.pacificfertilitycenter.com.
Media Contact
Renee H. Scudder, MS
415-249-3662
scudder(at)pacificfertility(dot)com
Pacific Fertility Center
55 Francisco Street, Fifth Floor
San Francisco, CA 94133
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Renee Scudder, Pacific Fertility Center, http://www.pacificfertilitycenter.com, 415-249-3662, [email protected]
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