Octuplets- Yikes! Dominion Fertility Responsibly Responds

Most of you have now heard about the recent octuplet birth that occurred in California. Even though this story has a positive spin, it should be viewed as a very serious complication of in vitro fertilization.

Fortunately, these babies seem to be healthy, but this couple was very lucky and they got some very good doctors too. Premature delivery is associated with a greater risk for CP, birth defects, respiratory distress, sensory and motor defects, just to name a very few. And the bottom line is that the human body was made to have just one baby at a time. Most of the time we get away with the successful delivery of twins, but they too have the increased risks associated with premature delivery.

At Dominion Fertility, our pregnancy rates are some of the highest in the country (please take a look at our IVF stats page). We have decreased the number of embryos transferred and yet, we still continue to be leaders with our IVF treatment programs. For example, on average we transfer 1.8 embryos in our IVF program in patients less than 38 years old. In our ova donor IVF program, we also transfer on average only 1.8 embryos. This has resulted in only one set of triplets per year since 2006, with no higher multiple pregnancies. Very few infertility centers in the United States can claim such a low incidence of multiple pregnancy with such high pregnancy rates. Many patients compare the IVF pregnancy rates with various IVF centers, but unfortunately most are unaware of a clinics' multiple pregnancy rates. I believe this is most important and should be strongly considered when choosing an IVF program when using ovarian stimulating drugs.

So, why are we able to transfer so few embryos and yet maintain our high IVF success rates?

First, experience matters. DF has been producing babies since 1987. I first began performing IVF in 1984, and Dr.G in 1994. Our chief of embryology, Awie Botes, helped produce the first IVF baby in South Africa in 1980. By way of comparison, the first IVF baby in the world was produced in 1978, and 1982 in the U.S. So, DF has the necessary experience. Awie also worked with Dr. Kruger, who established the "Kruger" criteria, which is a standard used today to assess sperm morphology.

Second, we use the latest technologies and often we are the first, or one of the first, to bring these technologies to our patients. For example, I produced the first GIFT baby in the Washington DC are in 1986, followed shortly later by the first ZIFT baby. And DF produced the world's first cryothawed sibling frozen-thaw IVF babies (People Magazine, 1998). Now, we only use "vitrification", a major breakthrough in embryo cryopreservation, to freeze our embryos. Please read my post on vitrification (on the Patient Stories page) for more details about this new technology.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, we care. At DF, all patients are provided individual personalized care. "One couple at a time". So, we do not use "shot gun" protocols, rather each treatment is individualized for the couple. In my mind, there is no question that this results in superior pregnancy rates and happier patients.

-Dr.D