Dr. William Cooper Fertility Clinic
The Dr. William Cooper Fertility Clinic is the first fertility unit in Northern Luzon that has been established to address the needs of infertile couples wanting to conceive using advanced reproductive technology.
The Fertility Clinic provides services for evaluation and treatment planning, carries out programs of ovulation induction, sperm concentration and intra uterine insemination, and in vitro fertililization and gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT).
The Clinic is located on the Second Floor, of the Lorma Special Services Unit, old west wing building. “Since the opening of the Clinic in March 2010, there had been 21 babies born under the fertility program, “
Quick Facts About Infertility
Infertility is NOT an inconvenience; it is a disease of the reproductive system that impairs the body’s ability to perform the basic function of reproduction.
Infertility affects about 7.3 million women and their partners in the U.S. — about 12% of the reproductive-age population (Source: National Survey of Family Growth, CDC 2002).
Infertility affects men and women equally.
Most infertility cases — 85% to 90% — are treated with conventional medical therapies such as medication or surgery.
While vital for some patients, in vitro fertilization and similar treatments account for less than 3% of infertility services.
What is Infertility?
Infertility is a disease of the reproductive system that impairs one of the body’s most basic functions: the conception of children. Conception is a complicated process that depends upon many factors: on the production of healthy sperm by the man and healthy eggs by the woman; unblocked fallopian tubes that allow the sperm to reach the egg; the sperm’s ability to fertilize the egg when they meet; the ability of the fertilized egg (embryo) to become implanted in the woman’s uterus; and sufficient embryo quality.
What Causes Infertility?
No one can be blamed for infertility any more than anyone is to blame for diabetes or leukemia. About one-third of infertility cases can be attributed to male factors, and about one-third to factors that affect women. For the remaining one-third of infertile couples, infertility is caused by a combination of problems in both partners or, in about 20 percent of cases, is unexplained.
The most common male infertility factors include azoospermia (no sperm cells are produced) and oligospermia (few sperm cells are produced). Sometimes, sperm cells are malformed or they die before they can reach the egg. In rare cases, infertility in men is caused by a genetic disease such as cystic fibrosis or a chromosomal abnormality.
The most common female infertility factor is an ovulation disorder. Other causes of female infertility include blocked fallopian tubes, which can occur when a woman has had pelvic inflammatory disease or endometriosis (a sometimes painful condition causing adhesions and cysts). Congenital anomalies (birth defects) involving the structure of the uterus and uterine fibroids are associated with repeated miscarriages.
How is Infertility Diagnosed?
Couples are generally advised to seek medical help if they are unable to achieve pregnancy after a year of unprotected intercourse. The doctor will conduct a physical examination of both partners to determine their general state of health and to evaluate physical disorders that may be causing infertility. Usually both partners are interviewed about their sexual habits in order to determine whether intercourse is taking place properly for conception.
If no cause can be determined at this point, more specific tests may be recommended. For women, these include an analysis of body temperature and ovulation, x-ray of the fallopian tubes and uterus, and laparoscopy. For men, initial tests focus on semen analysis.
How is Infertility Treated?
Most infertility cases — 85 to 90 percent — are treated with conventional therapies, such as drug treatment or surgical repair of reproductive organs.
What is In Vitro Fertilization?
In infertile couples where women have blocked or absent fallopian tubes, or where men have low sperm counts, in vitro fertilization (IVF) offers a chance at parenthood to couples who until recently would have had no hope of having a “biologically related” child.
In IVF, eggs are surgically removed from the ovary and mixed with sperm outside the body in a Petri dish (“in vitro” is Latin for “in glass”). After about 40 hours, the eggs are examined to see if they have become fertilized by the sperm and are dividing into cells. These fertilized eggs (embryos) are then placed in the women’s uterus, thus bypassing the fallopian tubes.
IVF has received a great deal of media attention since it was first introduced in 1978, but it actually accounts for less than five percent of all infertility treatment in the United States.
Does In Vitro Fertilization Work?
YES. IVF was introduced in the United States in 1981. Since 1985, when we began counting, through the end of 2006, almost 500,000 babies have been born in the United States as a result of reported Assisted Reproductive Technology procedures (IVF, GIFT, ZIFT, and combination procedures). IVF currently accounts for more than 99% of ART procedures with GIFT, ZIFT and combination procedures making up the remainder. The average live delivery rate for IVF in 2005 was 31.6 percent per retrieval–a little better than the 20 per cent chance in any given month that a reproductively healthy couple has of achieving a pregnancy and carrying it to term. In 2002, approximately one in every hundred babies born in the US was conceived using ART and that trend continues today.
For more information or to inquiries, please contact:
Dr. Sharon Marie Galia Marcial, DPOGS
Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility Gynecologic
Laparoscopy & Hysteroscopy
Tel. no.: 072-888-2616 or 071-700-0000
Loc. 131, 139, 242
Clinic Schedule: Tue, Th 8-10 AM