in this issue
Sonja Kristiansen, MD
Medical Director & co-founder
of
the
Infertility Center
of Houston, Dr. Kristiansen is double board certified in
Reproductive
Endocrinology and Obstetrics & Gynecology and
specializes in surgical and IVF procedures.
She has
advanced training in hysteroscopy, laparoscopy, and
microtubal reconstruction. She also works with
female endocrine abnormalities relating to
menstrual and reproductive development.
Quick Links...
|
|
Greetings,
When fertility patients are considering the use in vitro
fertilization to conceive, there are many decisions that
must be made. One of those decisions is what they
want to do with any unused embryos that may be
created in the IVF process. There are a number of
choices for patients, depending on the options provided
by the fertility clinic they use and on the patients' own
feelings.
|
Why Are There Extras?
Depending on situations unique to each patient, like
age, the cause of infertility, and other health
conditions, the best chance for pregnancy by IVF
starts with the creation of more than a few embryos.
For several reasons, some people may wind up with a
handful of embryos, while another patient may produce
double-digit numbers in a single IVF cycle. When it's
time to put the embryos into the woman's uterus, many
factors go into deciding how many to transfer, not the
least of which is the common desire to avoid multiple
pregnancy.
Multiple pregnancies, even those that are very much
desired by the patient, can be dangerous for both
babies and mom. Fertility specialists and researchers
have worked hard to arrive at safer numbers of
embryos to transfer. Our ultimate goal is to transfer a
single embryo that will develop into a healthy baby.
However, those individual patient characteristics that
impact how many embryos are created can also affect
the viability of each embryo, the condition of the
uterine environment, implantation, and pregnancy
success. For that reason, most patients and specialists
choose to transfer from two up to four embryos per IVF
cycle. If the patient initially created more than those
transferred, there are "leftover" embryos.
|
|
What Do We Do with Them?
Clinics vary in how they help patients handle excess
embryos. Houston Infertility Clinic offers in-house
cryopreservation and storage. There is no limit to the
length of time that you may choose to store frozen
embryos, but we do advise patients to make thoughtful
choices about the length of time they want to keep
their embryos in cryo-storage. One important
consideration is cost -- the first year of storage is
included in our patients' IVF cycle fee, and patients
pay yearly for any storage beyond that first year.
The options to consider are:
- FET, or frozen embryo transfer, for couples
who wish to try and conceive again.
- Donation of qualified embryos to another
infertile
couple. We recognize the need for specialized
professional guidance with all of the important
implications of this choice. The services of Southwest
Surrogacy Associates LLC and Parenting Options LLC
are available to patients for all related counseling and
legal needs. New rigorous federal guidelines must be
met for embryos to be acceptable for donation.
- Donation to stem cell research. We are
proud to
have been chosen to collaborate with the pioneering
University of Wisconsin at Madison's Stem Cell Program.
Professor James Thomson, now scientific director of
WiCell Research Institute, established the first stem cell
line in 1998. WiCell has recently been chosen by the
NIH to create the US Federal government's first and
only national stem cell bank.
-
Elect to thaw the embryos and allow them to expire
naturally. Because ICH has a "no embryo
termination"
policy, patients making this choice will be assisted in
choosing another facility to which the embryos are
transferred for final disposal.
|
|
Tough, Necessary Choices
We respect the delicate, solemn thought that goes into
making choices for your embryos. Inevitably, IVF
patients must make decisions regarding what to do with
embryos they've created yet cannot use for attempted
conception. We understand that all individuals have
their own limitations which must be respected, for the
benefit of the patient and any resulting children.
Embryo donation to another couple is a new concept,
and one that is only acceptable to some. While
donation to research has been an option longer and
amazing results are already being used to treat
disease, it's still an option that only some people will
choose. Allowing the natural expiration of embryos is,
likewise, satisfactory to some but not all.
The choices are tough, but the positive side is that
there are choices. Please don't hesitate to contact me
or my staff with your questions and concerns regarding
your embryos, either the ones you have already
created or the ones you hope to create for the future.
|
|
More Locations
On November 15, we'll begin offering services
convenient to southwest Houston patients at our new,
additional location: 3535 Town Center Blvd in Sugar
Land. Please call our Central office (713-862-6181) for
specific directions.
Sincerely,
Sonja B. Kristiansen, MD
|
|
