It's a fact that subfertility is present in our society. We personally know married couples who have been trying to conceive for years yet remain unsuccessful after engaging in unprotected sex. When this happens, fertility doctors recommend that these couples seek medical care right away to determine the main cause of subfertility.

Right at the heart of any fertility treatment is an embryologist, a specialist who helps childless married couples achieve their long-time goal to conceive a baby. The role of embryologists in modern assisted conception is very crucial. Working hand-in-hand with fertility clinicians, embryologists conduct laboratory tests on the female egg and male sperm and culture the egg and sperm to achieve fertilization.

A well-trained embryologist

One of them is Tracy Ong, a scientific IVF consultant and chief embryologist at Victory A.R.T Laboratory Philippines, Inc. in Makati. A Singaporean, Tracy started to specialize in embryology back in 1987 and has undergone training abroad to improve her knowledge on male and female subfertility.

Tracy also studied In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) at King's College Hospital in London in 1995. In 1997, Tracy underwent training on ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection) manipulation technology at the Reproductive Medicine Laboratory at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Adelaide, Australia; and Brussels, Belgium. Developed in 1992, ICSI is a new fertility technology that specifically helps improve male fertility.

In 2001, Tracy attended a workshop on the latest assisted conception technology called pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) at University College London. PGD is another technology for people who have repeated failures in conceiving despite undergoing assisted conception.

IVF lab in the Philippines

The key to helping couples conceive, Tracy related, is positive thinking. Also, physical and emotional stress brings negative effects on fertility.

Tracy also advises couples who have difficulty getting pregnant after a year of natural intercourse should come forward and seek treatment. Tracy provides free counseling to couples. This way, questions are answered clearly before they decide to undergo any assisted reproductive technique (ART), IVF being the last resort. But do these couples know where to go for consultation and treatment?

Luckily, there is Victory A.R.T. Laboratory (in Makati) that specializes in high-tech fertility treatment, i.e. in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and embryo transfer (ET). This center, established for over a year now, is affiliated with a chain of IVF labs in Asia. It offers a complete range of services and procedures including fertility screening, semen analysis, sperm preparation for intra-uterine insemination (IUI), hormone tests and pregnancy test. Also, the lab provides cryopreservation of embryos and sperms.

Victory A.R.T. Lab features state-of-the-art facilities, rivaling those found abroad. That's why couples need not travel overseas to seek ART procedures or IVF anymore. A core team of specialists provides quality service at Victory A.R.T. Lab that patients are treated with utmost respect and privacy to make them feel comfortable while undergoing the process.

Specializing in fertility

Subfertility is a very sensitive topic that most people would often keep a secret. But now, more people are seeking medical help from experts like Tracy Ong and fertility doctors who know how to better handle the issue. By so doing, it will just be a matter of time for childless married couples to experience the joy of having their own child(ren); although some of them may have to undergo modern assisted conception.

* Victory A.R.T. Laboratory is located at Deck 1 Medical Plaza Makati, Amorsolo cor. De la Rosa Sts. Legaspi Village, Makati City, Philippines. For more information on IVF, interested parties may contact 884-2290 to 92 or email victoryartlab@yahoo.com. All inquiries will be treated with utmost confidentiality.