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In 1979, Dr. Donald L. Cline M.D. founded Reproductive Endocrinology Associates in Indianapolis, Indiana which is a full service infertility facility providing comprehensive, specialized care for infertility and reproductive medicine including IVF (outside the body fertilization). He is a pioneer in the field of reproductive medicine, charting new paths for couples frustrated by the challenge of infertility. His innovative, compassionate medical care also includes treating patients with endometriosis and other causes of infertility and pelvic pain. This approach to reproductive medicine has led to the development and refinement of fertility preservation for women.
Dr. Cline’s Christian beliefs led him to develop, in collaboration with Dr. Jeffery Boldt Ph.D., a colleague at Community North Hospital in Indianapolis, a new method for storing frozen unfertilized human eggs for future use. They are among the few programs in the United States to publish their initial results which can be found in Human Reproduction. When many eggs are obtained during an IVF procedure, most centers are now fertilizing all of the eggs. Only two or three embryos (fertilized eggs) are transferred back into the patients’ uterus and the remaining embryos are frozen for future use. However, most couples do not use all of their embryos and they remain in storage until they are eventually discarded. It is estimated that there are over one million frozen embryos worldwide and most will be discarded. A theological/moral problem may then arise when embryos are destroyed. At Reproductive Endocrinology Associates, the belief is held that life begins at conception and, therefore, a new method for doing IVF was needed. Attempts at freezing unfertilized eggs, eventually thawing them, fertilizing them with the husbands’ sperm, and then transferring the embryos derived from these frozen eggs to the uterus resulting in a successful pregnancy have been tried for years. Most attempts were unsuccessful as the eggs did not survive the freeze-thaw process. However, Drs. Cline and Boldts’ new method for freezing and storing human eggs has been successful.
In late 2000, the first pregnancy from a frozen egg was announced and Emma was born in July, 2001. Since then, Drs. Cline and Boldt, working through the Community Health Network at Community North Hospital have realized numerous pregnancies and many babies have now been born including two set of twins! With this innovative procedure, if frozen eggs are no longer wanted, they may be discarded with no moral/ethical issues.
The success enjoyed by realizing pregnancies and babies from frozen eggs has led to the idea of “fertility preservation”. If a woman is to be treated for cancer by chemotherapy or radiation, and the ovaries will be permanently damaged with this treatment, Reproductive Endocrinology Associates can offer hope! In less than thirty days, eggs can be stimulated to develop in the ovaries and egg retrieval as an outpatient is done. Then cryopreservation of the eggs can be done prior to initiating cancer therapy. As far as it is known, there is no limit in the length of time that eggs can be frozen and then thawed and successfully fertilized in vitro.
There is another important reason to offer fertility preservation. Many women would like to become pregnant but at the present time their “life situation” does not allow for pregnancy. These situations may include not being married, job situations, or educational situations. Again, in less than thirty days, eggs can be stimulated, retrieved, and stored frozen. These eggs do not “age” while in frozen storage and therefore the risk of Down’s Syndrome and other genetic abnormalities should remain at the level of the woman’s age at the time of retrieval and not at the patients age when the eggs are eventually fertilized.
Dr. Cline is board certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology and has completed a fellowship in reproductive endocrinology and infertility. He also serves as a volunteer Professor of Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Indiana University School of Medicine. His caring nature and his extensive experience in the area on infertility and fertility preservation assure that patients receive the most advanced care available in the field today.
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