Jun 5, 2009 7:20 pm US/Eastern
HealthWatch: In Vitro Maturation Is The New IVF
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
Nearly one in eight couples in the US will suffer from some form of infertility. Not only do they experience emotional anguish, but treatments, such as in vitro fertilization, can also be a financial strain.
Now, however, there's a breakthrough procedure using little or no fertility drugs. This means renewed hope for couples wanting to become parents while easing their economic burden for uninsured fertility treatments.
The sign on the door says "Hope," and for patient Amy Timney, that's what the office visit represents.
"My husband and I knew we were going to have some trouble trying to start a family," Amy says.
Amy suffers from polycystic ovary syndrome, which makes it difficult for her to conceive. After two years and tens of thousands of dollars spent on in vitro fertilization, Amy is ready to try a new procedure.
The treatment is called IVM, and it costs roughly one-third of traditional IVF treatments.
"In vitro maturation, that's what it stands for," reproductive endocrinologist Dr. Joel Batzofin says. "In vitro means 'in the laboratory,' and maturation – the eggs are maturing in the laboratory, as contrasted with the body."
That means that, rather than harvest eggs that are matured in the body using a series of drugs and injections, a significantly reduced amount of medication is needed to retrieve immature eggs. Those eggs are then matured in an incubator in a lab.
"In the lab there's a ton of difference, things we do differently," lab manager Michael Perretti says. "We treat the eggs different, we add hormones to the media, the way we collect them is a little more difficult, but it still works well."
"Right off the bat, we are cutting out at least 50 percent, if not more, of the medication," Dr. Batzofin says. "Because you are cutting out so much medication, you don't have to do so much monitoring – that's another component to the cost."
As it's still a relatively new procedure, data is still being gathered on the viability of IVM. So far, more than 400 successful births have been recorded worldwide using the treatment.
"It is a huge relief to not have to come up with another $15,000 to try this again," Amy says.
Regular IVF treatments can cost $12,000-15,000.
Since, with IVM, patients need far less medication – and in some cases drugs can be foregone altogether – the cost can be about a one-third the price of IVF, about $5,000.
IVM is still in a study phase, and has been approved by the Institutional Review Board.
For more information on IVM and other fertility treatments, see the Batzofin Fertility Services Web site
here.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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