IVF Programs and Research
The In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) Program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital is the oldest continually-operating assisted reproductive program in the country. With your support of our pioneering programs and research, we seek to help women faced with medical challenges achieve their dream of conceiving and bearing children.
We are proud to continue the tradition of delivering life-giving breakthroughs as we move forward with research in fertility preservation for cancer patients who are rendered sterile by their treatments. BWH is dedicated to creating our nation’s first center for fertility preservation to help.
Preserving Post-Cancer Fertility
What happens when adolescent girls and women survive—and even thrive—after receiving cancer diagnoses and treatments, and their thoughts turn to their post-cancer lives, including fertility and having children?
Recently a team of doctors from BWH travelled to Brussels, Belgium, home to a pioneering clinic that has been on the forefront of fertility restoration in cancer patients for 20 years. Their goal: To gain the expertise they’ll need to establish a similar clinic at BWH in partnership with Children’s Hospital and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
The BWH team observed ovarian tissue harvesting and re-implantation procedures, and learned and practiced laboratory protocols for freezing and thawing ovarian tissue, and isolating follicles from this tissue for growth in the laboratory. This trip was a huge step for BWH in its commitment to becoming the premier site for fertility preservation in our country.
Philanthropic support for a BWH fertility preservation center could help restore the hopes and dreams of these girls and women impacted by cancer.
If you would like to support our dedication to this cause and help women who are challenged in their desire to conceive and bear children, please give to IVF programs and research.
Brigham and Women's Hospital did everything possible for Sophia and her family. Watch her video below and read her story here
