Dr. David Richards
Center for Advanced Reproductive Medicine
American Fork, UT
http://www.richardsinvitro.com (801) 756-4313
Infertility can be an emotionally and physically distressing experience for many people and we have a doctor here that says he can help.
In Vitro Fertilization is a reproductive technique that is used to treat multiple infertility problems. The treatment involves stimulation of the ovaries to produce multiple eggs, removal of the eggs by a simple out patient procedure followed by insemination of the eggs. After the eggs are grown in culture for several days they are transferred into the uterus.
If you're known to have a preexisting tubal damage; aware of sperm abnormalities; if you are under the age of 35 and don't conceive within one year; or over the age of 35 and don't conceive within the first six to twelve months of trying; or if your doctor continues to prescribe fertility drugs without success - don't waste time. Go to a specialist, time is important.
While the basic principles that guided the formulation of the first IVF baby are still in use today, modifications have been made since that has created a formula even more optimal for fertilization and embryonic development. To increase success rates doctors have improved ovarian stimulation, in an effort to produce more embryos. My partner here in American Fork, Dr. Richard P. Marrs established this countries second In Vitro Fertilization program in 1981 and initiated one of the world's first IVF babies. Together we have produced thousands of babies with In Vitro Fertilization for patients all over the country. Dr. Marrs also made medical history in 1986 with the first pregnancy from a thawed frozen embryo. This medical breakthrough made it possible for us to take the extra embryos that patients produce when they go through the IVF procedure freeze them and then store them until a later time. We have been able to keep these options highly affordable.
The event of embryo freezing brought momentous change to the technologies to IVF. The ability to save, store, and ultimately utilize excess embryos gave infertile woman a chance to conceive with few stimulation cycles. By doing†this it reduced the physical invasiveness of these procedures, and it also helped out their costs. Interestingly enough my partner Dr. Richard Marrs is the doctor that made this medical breakthrough.
Embryos can be used within months or they can be stored for indefinite period of time. Many patients have stored them for years.
