BONUS 315: INVOcell

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?