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Freeze-Storage Egg Banking for Egg Donation Treatment

The rapid freezing technique of vitrification is set to revolutionise egg donation as a fertility treatment by enabling freeze-storage egg-banking. The cryopreservation of eggs was one of IVF’s continuing challenges until the widespread introduction of vitrification; the older slow freezing methods induced the formation of ice crystals, which could cause damage to several structures of the egg. Thus, as demand for egg donation increases as a treatment for age-related infertility, egg banking with vitrification can theoretically provide a large pool of donor eggs without the present need for collection, fertilisation and transfer in a “fresh” treatment cycle (in which the donor and recipient’s cycles are hormonally synchronised).

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How Iran Became a Leader in Fertility Treatment, Courtesy of the Ayatollahs

Iran is not the first country that comes to mind for its progressive social policies. Homosexuality, for example, is a punishable crime in Iran. Yet, there is one area in which the country has shown a progressive bent: Fertility treatment. Iran is a actually a leader in the field of fertility treatment — attracting couples looking for in vitro fertilization, or IVF, from all over the Middle East. And it’s all due to support from the Ayatollahs.

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Counting the Cost of Infertility Treatment

Although the demand for infertility treatment is rising, the high cost may deter some couples from seeking care. Researchers from the University of California-San Francisco assessed direct out-of-pocket costs for couples undergoing fertility treatment. Those using medication only had the lowest out-of-pocket expenses at $912, while those using in vitro fertilization (IVF) had the highest at $19,234. The results, published in The Journal of Urology®, will help inform couples who seek infertility care and the physicians who counsel them.

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A Happy Ending to Army Couple’s Infertility Struggles

Even before Marc and Sallie Bailey started their ninth fertility treatment, they knew it would be their last. The couple had spent more than three years and $70,000 trying to conceive. Now they were burning Marc’s military leave to travel 700 miles from Kentucky to New Jersey to work with a private specialty clinic.

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FDA to Review Experimental Fertility Treatment

The Food and Drug Administration has accepted for review Merck & Co. Inc.’s new drug application for an investigational fertility treatment.  Merck (NYSE:MRK) is seeking FDA approval of corifollitropin alfa for controlled ovarian stimulation in women participating in assisted reproductive technology.