Today’s bonus episode guest is Dr. Sue Ellen Carpenter, founding physician and CEO of Bloom Fertility in Atlanta.
Dr. Carpenter and Heather discuss INVOcell as an alternative to IVF:
INTRODUCTION
* I’d like to start by introducing you to our audience. Tell us who you are, where you work, what you do, and how you got to where you are today.
* Take us through your career journey.
* Why did you choose to go into medicine?
* I understand, although you did not go through infertility yourself, that your children experienced infertility. Are you able to tell us their stories?
INVOCELL
* Let’s start with the basics of the INVOcell device itself.
* How does the process work, and how does it feel to the patient? Can you walk us through it step-by-step?
* I always thought that anesthesia is used in IVF because of the pain involved in the procedure. Is that not the case?
* What should patients be doing during the incubation period for INVOcell?
* Since the transfers are always fresh transfers, are you able to save any embryos afterward for freezing?
* Is there a typical patient who would benefit from INVOcell?
* I presume that INVOcell can also be used with donor sperm?
* How does INVOcell compare to IVF as far as success rates?
* Do you know offhand how many pregnancies and live births have occurred with the use of INVOcell?
* Are there any other benefits to INVOcell as compared to IVF that you haven’t discussed?
* Is INVOcell ever used to bank embryos?
* How often can INVOcell be used? Is there a limit?
* We’ve talked a lot about the benefits of INVOcell, but are there any risks?
* Do you know where the idea for INVOcell came from originally?
* Since that initial idea, what materials and manufacturing practices went into the development that we know today?
* Once it entered the market and was used routinely, has INVOcell changed?
* Where is INVOcell being used?
* Speaking more broadly, are there any trends you have witnessed in women struggling with infertility?
WRAPPING UP
* What is your biggest piece of advice for people struggling with infertility?
* Is there anything else you’d like to add about INVOcell?
