Centro Especializado en Reproduccion CER Fertility Clinic in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Why we are pioneers?

Our main mission is to help women and men to have children in the context of medical excellence and personalized attention. To do this, we have the most advanced methods of assisted reproduction and an exceptional multidisciplinary team, led by Dr. Polak Fried. Thanks to his advances and his tireless work, the CER has become a pioneer not only in Argentina but also worldwide.

Some of our most outstanding achievements are:

1987 - First births with PROST, TET, and MESA techniques in Argentina.

Cryopreserved embryos first in Argentina.

Creation of the first Latin American program ovodonación

first pregnancies and births per oocyte donation in Latin America

1992 - First baby born in Argentina through embryo donation.

1994 - Ovodonación first birth by a patient's syndrome XXY Androgen Insensitivity Morris.

1997 - First pregnancy and first birth from frozen eggs in the world (simultaneously with Italy and the United States).

First Bank Cryopreservation of eggs in America.

First pregnancy and birth in the world using cryopreserved eggs for four years to ovodonación in a patient with ovarian failure.

First pregnancy and birth with frozen eggs and frozen sperm, in a patient undergoing radiation therapy for a seminoma, after preserving fertility.

1999 - First to use low-dose aspirin ( baby aspirin ) in in vitro fertilization in the world.

2002 - First ovarian tissue transplant in Argentina.

2005 - First to achieve the formation of parthenogenetic blastocysts from frozen eggs.

2009 - First to obtain evolutionary pregnancies and born in the world, carrying out sperm recovery by associating Annexin V columns in patients with repeated previous failures in assisted fertilization treatments.

Techniques

Artificial insemination

This technique consists of depositing sperm directly into the uterus to facilitate fertilization within the reproductive system of the woman.  On the probable day of ovulation, the male partner is asked to provide a semen sample. Inside CER laboratories, the sperm with the best characteristics are recovered and washed and concentrated in a small volume. One to two hours after obtaining the sample, in the office, the sperm is introduced into the uterus. It is a  totally painless and ambulatory technique. On some occasions, the woman previously receives a slight hormonal stimulation to ensure ovulation. In these cases, it should be monitored with ultrasound to avoid the risk of multiple pregnancies.  The effectiveness of this technique ranges from 15 to 20 percent with each attempt. If after three or four attempts at artificial insemination the pregnancy is not achieved, it is recommended to use an in vitro fertilization technique.

In vitro fertilization / ICSI

This technique consists of obtaining eggs, fertilizing them in the laboratory with sperm, and then transferring the embryos to the uterus. In vitro fertilization (IVF) is recommended when the fallopian tubes are damaged (tubal obstructions, Tuboperitoneal adhesions, tubal surgeries); in cases of sperm disorders (mild to moderate male factor); in severe endometriosis; in cases of infertility with no apparent cause; and when there have been previously failed inseminations.

To begin the procedure, different drugs are used to stimulate the ovary to produce the necessary number of eggs, without putting the woman's health at risk. Using vaginal ultrasounds and blood hormone measurements, it is possible to know when the ovarian follicles are mature. It is then that the ovules are extracted by means of a transvaginal ovarian puncture performed under ultrasound control in our operating room. This process lasts just 15 minutes and the woman receives gentle sedation to avoid any discomfort. In two hours, you can go home. Meanwhile, in our laboratories equipped with state-of-the-art technology, the eggs are conditioned and the sperm sample is prepared using the recovery method that this sample requires. The eggs can be used immediately for fertilization with sperm, or they can be frozen for future attempts. If you want to use them immediately, the eggs are placed together with sperm in a capsule for fertilization to occur. In the case of severe male factors, previous fertilization failures, and the presence of sperm agglutination, intracytoplasmic oocyte injection or ICSI is used, in which a sperm is directly introduced into each ovule. After about 18 hours, our fertilization experts examine the eggs, to see how many have actually been fertilized or fertilized. They are left in cultural conditions for a few more hours, during which the fertilized eggs begin to divide.

Depending on each clinical situation, in particular, the day on which the embryos will be transferred to the uterus will be decided. The CER recommends transferring no more than two good quality embryos in women under 35 years of age - to avoid high-risk hyper multiple pregnancies - and freezing the rest of the embryos for future use (see cryopreservation).

The embryo transfer is carried out 2 or 3 or 5 to 6 days after the ovules are extracted. It is a simple procedure that is performed under ultrasound control in an appropriate environment and does not require anesthesia. The patient leaves within the hour. At 12 to 14 days it will be possible to know by a blood test of the beta subunit of chorionic gonadotropin (beta HCG) if the transfer has been successful The success of this technique depends on many factors, including the woman's age, the quality of the eggs and sperm, among others. Naturally, young couples with no known history of infertility manage to get pregnant with a 20 to 25% chance per cycle, within the first year of unprotected sex. New technologies have largely managed to overcome these changes, which in turn decrease significantly as the age of women and men increases.

ICSI

Injecting a sperm directly into an ovum, under a special microscope and through micromanipulation, has made it possible to obtain previously impossible pregnancies. In 1992 a breakthrough was achieved in the field of assisted reproduction: sperm microinjection. In this way, many men with the low quantity or low quality of sperm managed to become parents without resorting to sperm donors. Virtually all men who have a reproductive problem (in the ejaculate, in their testicles, and other elements that participate in the production of semen) can have children. Sperm can be extracted from different parts of the male reproductive system. Then they have to be injected into ovules obtained by hormonal stimulation of the woman.

PGD ​​/ PGS

The possibility of evaluating the chromosomal and genetic characteristics of the cells of an embryo before they are transferred. CER offers its patients this study.

Preservation of fertility

The preservation of eggs, semen, and embryos at very low temperatures in tanks of liquid nitrogen allow their survival in perfect condition for years. Our technological equipment, imported supplies, and biosafety protocols guarantee the best possible cryopreservation of cells, tissues, and embryos obtained through assisted fertilization.

First Egg Cryopreservation Center (freezing eggs) - Firstborn with  cryopreserved eggs

In 1997, CER opened the first bank in America to store frozen eggs. In this way, the possibility of obtaining their own eggs at the time of life where they are of the best quality was made available to women who consult us, in order to guarantee future fertility, at the time the woman has a need to use them. Our egg bank also provides an invaluable service to women who must undergo chemo or radiotherapy treatment that could damage their sex gametes (eggs). CER also has the possibility of conserving part of the healthy ovarian tissue of women who will have to undergo cancer treatment, so that it can be transplanted again when they have recovered.

Egg Donation

Many women cannot fulfill their dream of having a child because they do not have their own eggs, because they are not viable, because they have suffered from diseases such as cancer, or because they have reached menopause early. For this reason, CER created in 1987 the First Egg Donation Program in Latin America, through which women who voluntarily wish to donate some of their eggs can help other women to give life. Egg donation is one of the most altruistic actions a woman can do. Some of the donated eggs come from a hormonal stimulation carried out with the purpose of achieving an assisted fertilization. Many women produce, during their treatment for a child, a number of eggs in very good condition that they will not use to achieve pregnancies. By donating your eggs, you will allow other women to achieve the dream of becoming mothers. Another option is to use women who donate eggs primarily to help others become mothers. These women are selected at the CER according to very strict health parameters and taking into account their biophysical compatibility with the women receiving their oocytes. Donors are carefully monitored both psychologically and biologically to ensure not only that they are safe but also that their eggs are of the highest possible quality. Eggs obtained at the CER can be used immediately or frozen thanks to our advances in cryopreservation until a woman needs them. To do this, CER currently has a frozen egg bank, available to women who require them to fulfill their desire for motherhood. The extraction of the ovules, after a hormonal stimulation that lasts about 15 days, is a simple procedure that is carried out in a few minutes and does not leave visible scars. It is important to remember that, although each woman has a limited number of eggs from birth, donating some of her eggs will not advance her own menopause. Success rates are closely linked to an adequate selection of the donor and experience in the medical management of the recipient. We are the first center in South America to develop an egg donation program that has been in operation since 1987. We have had the firstborn in the region with donated eggs. Due to the long experience that has been perfected with technological advances, the CER is considered in this area, a local and international reference center. As a consequence of the above, we have a very agile egg donation program where both recipients and donors are evaluated and treated efficiently and effectively.