Pacific Fertility Center

Welcome

Our Team

Diagnosis

Pacific Fertility Center: Leading Center of Excellence
Couples and individuals facing fertility challenges deserve exceptional treatment. Our doctors provide excellent care and have access to the latest technology. Other physicians continue to recognize that our doctors treat patients who have challenging diagnoses with superior care. As an affirmation of our exceptional medical care, every one of Pacific Fertility Center's physicians have been selected as a "Best Doctor" (see www.BestDoctors.com)

Professional Membership and Certifications
Pacific Fertility Center is a member of the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART) and the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM). A unique quality of our clinic is that all of our physicians are Board Certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ABOG) as Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Specialists.

In addition, our IVF laboratory is fully certified by the laboratory accreditation program of the College of American Pathologists - American Society for Reproductive Medicine (CAP-ASRM). This rigorous certification program provides assurance to our patients that the highest IVF laboratory standards are being met.

PFC Laboratory’s "Perfect" Evaluation
It is thanks to the embryologists’ meticulous work that our IVF laboratory repeatedly receives CAP accreditations with “no deficiencies” in the many aspects of the on-site testing criteria. And of the more than 600 testing areas, the center was up to standard in each one!

Explanation of SART Statistics
The Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology or SART has developed a national database for reporting fertility treatment outcomes. The report is generated by SART and published by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). This system assures consistency in reporting clinic outcomes around the country.

Keep in mind that the SART report includes only data for IVF treatment, and does not include pregnancies from intrauterine insemination, ovulation induction, or surgery. Also, since all data undergoes a rigorous review process and takes over a year to publish, the CDC reporting usually lags behind the most current data.

Using ART Statistics to Compare Programs
We urge caution when comparing statistics of one center with that of another. Be advised that a comparison of clinic success rates may not be meaningful because patient medical characteristics and treatment approaches may vary from clinic to clinic.

"Many people considering ART will want to use this report to find the "best" clinic. However, comparisons between clinics must be made with caution. Many factors contribute to the success of an ART procedure. Some factors are related to the training and experience of the ART clinic and laboratory professionals and the quality of services they provide. Other factors are related to the patients themselves, such as their age and the cause of their infertility. Some clinics may be more willing than others to accept patients with low chances of success or may specialize in various ART treatments that attract particular types of patients." For the complete text of "Introduction to Fertility Clinic Tables," go to: http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/drh/ART00/ifct.htm

Our Program
As previously stated, comparing IVF programs by published statistics requires some insight into why programs may or may not be different. We have listed some key points below to facilitate your understanding of our statistics.

At Pacific Fertility Center we review each patient’s individual situation. We believe that all patients should be given the necessary information to help them make decisions concerning treatment based on their goals, diagnosis, and expected outcome. Some centers turn away or discourage treatment for patients with a challenging diagnosis such as decreased ovarian reserve or severe endometriosis, in an effort to have higher pregnancy results. We believe that the decision to proceed with treatment is an individual one and we will provide an accurate assessment of your potential success rates.

Some factors associated with Pacific Fertility Center statistics:

Pacific Fertility Center does not restrict IVF to only those patients most likely to succeed, (a practice which often leads to higher pregnancy rates). Our less restrictive approach is confirmed by our high percentage of Decreased Ovarian Reserve, DOR (a basal FSH level of 10 mIU/mL or higher). As reported by SART/CDC in 2005, 24% of PFC patients were diagnosed with DOR.
PFC performs a substantial volume of IVF and oocyte donor cycles. This allows for better statistical accuracy of our data, (the fewer number of patients - the less statistically significant the rates become). We feel it keeps all of us well attuned to the practice of ART.
Although we individualize treatment to each patient’s diagnosis and prognosis, our goal is to adhere to ASRM guidelines on the maximum number of embryos to transfer, in order to lower the risk of high order multiples.

Pacific Fertility Center’s IVF Laboratory Statistics for 2006

2006 IVF Pregnancy Rates
Pacific Fertility Center is pleased to share our in vitro fertilization (IVF) pregnancy rates for 2006. Our outstanding in vitro fertilization pregnancy rates are made possible thanks to our team of ABOG board certified specialists in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility and highly trained embryologists.

Pacific Fertility Center’s investment in enhanced methods of embryo culture has improved outcomes with in vitro fertilization. New incubators, culture media, and procedures have increased embryo quality and embryo implantation rates. Each embryo has a higher potential to produce a pregnancy, which allows us to transfer fewer embryos, reducing the risk of higher order multiples.

Our technology offers better pregnancy rates with fewer numbers of embryos transferred. Based on this improvement we are instituting a new emphasis on single embryo transfers and expect to significantly reduce the risk of multiples and achieve our goal of “optimal” pregnancy outcomes.

2006 Highlights:
• High Pregnancy Rates with Day 5 (Blastocyst Transfers) – Selecting day 5 (blastocyst) fresh embryo transfers, we achieved a 59% pregnancy rate per transfer for women under age 35 using their own oocytes. As remarkably we achieved a 49% pregnancy rate per transfer for all women under age 43 using their own eggs.

• Outstanding Oocyte Donation Pregnancy Rates – Oocyte donation pregnancy rates are one of the best indicators of an outstanding IVF laboratory. Last year we achieved a 73% pregnancy rate per transfer for fresh day 5 transfers in women using donated oocytes. As not all donor oocyte recipients used a day 5 transfer, the combined pregnancy rate for all Day 3 or Day 5 fresh embryo transfers was an outstanding 66%.

Please note that these data have not yet been reported to CDC/SART and includes undelivered pregnancies. The pregnancies counted as positive include all pregnancies with a clear gestational sac on ultrasound examination. We urge caution when comparing statistics of one center with that of another. Be advised that a comparison of clinic success rates may not be meaningful because patient medical characteristics and treatment approaches may vary from clinic to clinic.