LAS VEGAS: Dr. Bruce Shapiro, Medical Director for The Fertility Center of Las Vegas recently presented research on Blastocyst Transfer to the Pacific Coast Reproductive Society, an organization for fertility experts. Dr. Shapiro's research on blastocyst transfer, a technique that is used in conjunction with IVF or "test tube" pregnancies, not only earned an award but acceptance for publication in the international journal, Sterility and Fertility.

In his research, Dr. Shapiro used blastocyst transfer to study the developmental potential of embryos at earlier stages of development and to examine the implantation rate per embryo of blastocyst transfer compared to earlier method in patients receiving donor eggs. He found the old method of laboratory incubation for only 3 days to be inferior to the new technique. Laboratory development for 5 or 6 days allows the identification of the most healthy embryos and he also found higher implantation rates per embryo in women undergoing blastocyst transfer as well as receiving donor eggs. Pregnancy rates have increased approximately 50% over conventional IVF methods alone. Blastocyst transfer enables the transfer of fewer embryos, but of higher quality, thus maintaining a good probability of pregnancy and a lower risk of multiple gestation while mitigating the thorny ethical, emotional, and financial issues that typically surround certain infertility treatments.

Editor's Note: Photographs of blastocyst transfer, tours of The Fertility Center's research lab, and interviews with Dr. Shapiro are available to members of the press. Please call to arrange an appointment.