Smoking cigarettes could make your dreams of conceiving go up in smoke. Not only does smoking cause cancer it also has been strongly linked to decreased fertility. Studies show that smokers have an increased risk for spontaneous abortions, chromosomal damage to sperm and eggs, and an earlier age at the onset of menopause. Women who are pregnant and smoking have children with lower birth weights and are at an increased risk their child will have Down's Syndrome. Over a 12 month period the percentage of female smokers experiencing a delay in conception was 54% higher than that of non-smokers. Patients need to know that continuing to smoke is defeating your attempts to conceive or maintain a healthy pregnancy naturally or while using ART (Artifical Reproductive Technologies) like IVF (In-vitro Fertilization). An additional study showed that patients who smoke require almost double the number of IVF cycles to conceive when compared to non-smokers. Several studies have shown a decrease in the quality of semen parameters in males that smoke. Second hand smoke has also been linked to a decrease in the ability to create, maintain and successfully complete a pregnancy. Each time you or your partner lights up you are actively diminishing your chances of conceiving while increase your risk for cancer and other diseases. Exposure to smoking is extremely unhealthy for you, your partner and the child during a pregnancy and during their life.  If you or your partner smokes, you need to quit. For more information about smoking and infertility and how to quit call the State Department of Health's toll free hotline at 1-866-697-8487 or you can visit these informative websites:

 www.asrm.org

www.protectyourfertility.org

http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/how2quit.htm

www.lungusa.org

www.cancer.org

http://www.nysmokefree.com/newweb/default.aspx

PRIDE (Pregnancy Initiation with Donor Eggs) has become a successful program at CNY Fertility Center. Donor eggs can be used for patients that have non-functioning ovaries, are of advanced maternal age (over 42), have genetic abnormalities or have undergone multiple failed cycles using their own eggs.

We offer an excellent selection of donors to our patients with no waiting list. Donors are between the ages of 21 and 32 and are meticulously screened for medical, genetic, and psychological attributes. Once a patient has decided to use donor eggs, we use their specified criteria to find an ideal match. 

PRIDE donors are anonymous, but non-identifying characteristics such as their hair color, height, educational background and family health history and baby or adult pictures are available to the recipients. CNY Fertility Center also works with known donors, who are interested in donating their eggs to close friends or relatives.

Dr. Kiltz and the staff of CNY Fertility Center was instrumental in helping develop this 2-DVD set which saw its worldwide release in October, 2004 at ASRM in Philadelphia. Covering many topics about the medical and emotional aspects of infertility, this DVD set is the only patient educational tool of its kind currently available. Dr. Kiltz is a principal presenter and shares screen time with some of the most influencial and important people in the field, including Dr. Alice Domar (author, Conquering Infertility and many other books), Diane Clapp (Resolve), Pamela Madsen (American Fertility Association), Dr. Alan DeCherney (UCLA), Dr. Michael Alper (Harvard) and many others.

In furthering our commitment to patient empowerment and quality education, we are proud to offer this DVD free, along with our patient information packet.

Click here to request your copy. Please include your NAME, ADDRESS and PHONE NUMBER. All information is confidential.

What is PGD?
Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) is a technology used to screen embryos created from IVF with ICSI for genetic diseases, before they are transferred back to the female's uterus. PGD is used to screen embryos for single gene defects such as Tay-Sachs, Huntington Disease, Sickle Cell Anemia and Cystic Fibrosis. It can also test embryos for chromosomal disorders such as Down's Syndrome and for X-linked diseases like Hemophilia. Additionally, PGD may be used for women who suffer recurrent pregnancy loss from chromosomal abnormalities and advanced maternal age. Screening and transferring only unaffected embryos reduces the rate of miscarriage and may help to alleviate the decision to terminate a pregnancy due to a genetic defect.
 
What happens during the PGD process?
In this process embryos are created by using ICSI for insemination. The embryos that fertilize and begin to divide are cultured to Day 3 where they are 8-10 blastomeres (cells) in size. At this point a hole is made in the zona pellucida of the embryo, very similar to embryo hatching, but it is used for a different purpose. Once the hole has been made in the zona pellucida a biopsy micro tool is used to gently remove one or two blastomeres from the embryo. This does not harm the embryo because at this point the cells have not begun to differentiate. Differentiation means that certain cells will develop into certain tissues of the fetus. The 8-10 blastomeres are composed of identical genetic material, and will continue to divide and grow properly even if one or two cells are biopsied. The incident of embryo damage during this process is very low, but does exist as in any other micromanipulation. Once the blastomeres are biopsied, they are processed according to the testing to be performed, and sent to a laboratory specializing in PGD analyses for definitive results.

How are the results determined?
Results from the PGD are obtained, and the laboratory is able to determine which embryos are not affected by the genetic disease being screened for. At that point, generally on Day 5, the healthy embryos are transferred back to the patient in anticipation of creating a viable pregnancy. An HCG beta is drawn 2 weeks from the date of egg retrieval to determine if a pregnancy has been initiated.

What else do I need to know?
As with any diagnostic procedure, PGD is not 100% accurate. Some embryos have mosaicism which means that not all the blastomeres are comprised of identical genetic material. In this event embryos which have been determined healthy may in fact be affected by the genetic disease. Patients may undergo an amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling (CVS) to confirm that the fetus is negative for the genetic disease.

Images of PGD