1) We are moving! (click here to download DOC file)
After 13 years in City Square, it’s time for a change. We’re making Genesis even better – with a more sophisticated lab, more comfortable rooms, and a better location. We’re staying in central Vancouver, in the heart of the “Broadway medical corridor”. Our new office will be eight blocks west, near the corner of Broadway and Hemlock.

Where: #300 – 1367 West Broadway, Vancouver, BC V6H 4A7
When: Friday August 15 to Monday August 18, 2008, inclusive

2) Two new partners and a new office in Surrey - July 2007
Over the past 12 years, we have helped thousands of lower mainland families grow. At the same time, we’ve heard feedback from doctors and our patients about the need for infertility services “closer to home”.

In response, we are opening a new office in Surrey to serve the Fraser Valley better. We’ve also recruited two new physicians, Dr. Beth Taylor and Dr. Jason Hitkari, who have subspecialty training in reproductive endocrinology, infertility and first trimester nuchal translucency screening. In July, we will open Genesis Surrey where Drs. Taylor and Hitkari will practice in addition to working in our central Vancouver facility.

Genesis now offers the most comprehensive array of infertility services in the province, including:

Genesis Surrey will provide all basic female and male infertility evaluation and counselling, in addition to ultrasound and hormonal monitoring during fertility treatment cycles. Complex procedures involving our laboratory, such as egg retrievals and embryo transfers will continue through our central facility in Vancouver. However, monitoring through Genesis Surrey should dramatically reduce the time and travel commitments required of patients living in the Fraser Valley and beyond.

Address: 116-13798 94A Avenue, Surrey, BC
Located across from Surrey Memorial Hospital

Appointment bookings will be coordinated through the main Genesis office (604-879-3032).

3) Pre-Implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD)
“We just want our baby to be healthy …” That wish is expressed by all prospective parents, yet is especially touching in couples who are at high risk for passing on a severe genetic disorder that they are known to carry. Traditionally, such couples were offered prenatal diagnosis by amniocentesis, but with a substantial likelihood of facing the dilemma of a mid-trimester pregnancy termination.

We are now able to offer pre-implantation diagnosis during an IVF cycle in order to select unaffected embryos for transfer in individuals who carry the genetic markers for certain inherited disorders. We’re delighted to report that our first two PGD pregnancies have now delivered healthy babies unaffected by the genetic disorder carried by one of their parents.

The first couple was featured in an article in The Province on June 5, 2006. Ironically, the 28 year old husband/father is a PhD student working at BC’s Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics where he’s focusing his research career on trying to find a cure for Huntington disease – the very disease that he himself carries and that has affected his mother and grandmother.

The goal of PGD: to establish a pregnancy that does not have the severe genetic disease which the couple is at high risk of transmitting.

Eligible individuals must carry an identifiable genetic marker for a serious inherited disorder, such as Huntington disease, Fragile X, thalassemia, cystic fibrosis, Marfan’s Syndrome, a balanced translocation, etc.

The process: Single cells are biopsied from three-day old embryos & transported overnight to a specialized molecular genetics lab in the USA. Screening occurs the following day for the specific genetic marker using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH). From the embryos that continue to develop, unaffected blastocysts are selected for transfer on day five.

The caveats: PGD is a complex and expensive process that requires couples to undergo an IVF/ICSI cycle which they may not otherwise need. The process is generally only suitable for couples who find standard prenatal testing and mid-trimester pregnancy termination unacceptable. There is also a small risk that there will be no surviving, unaffected embryos for transfer. Eligible couples must have a known genetic disorder for which they’ve had genetic counseling:

• We cannot screen embryos at random for unspecified abnormalities
• Canadian law prohibits PGD for gender selection for social reasons

For further information: Feel free to contact us for more information on PGD. Alternately, your physician may wish to contact the Provincial Medical Genetics Program at 604-875-2157 for assistance with investigation and counseling related to specific genetic conditions.

4) Chapters
In recognition of their expertise, two of our physicians were recently invited to publish textbook chapters:

1. Fluker MR, Fisher S. “Anovulation and Ovulatory Dysfunction”
   In: Falcone T and Hurd W, editors. Clinical Reproductive Medicine and Surgery, Philadelphia, Elsevier Inc. 2006.
   
   -This comprehensive new textbook is intended to be a state-of-the-art reference on the medical and surgical management of reproductive disorders.
   
2. Fluker MR. “Outpatient management of patients with OHSS”
   In: Gerris J, Olivennes F and Delvigne P, editors. Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome. Taylor & Francis Medical Books, London. 2006.
   
   -An international collaborative effort produced this authoritative reference on Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome. Our centre is internationally recognized for our pioneering role in the pro-active outpatient management of OHSS.

5) Nursing Awards
Our excellence in nursing is exemplified by one of our newest nurses, Leanne Bulmer, BA, BSN. Leanne was awarded the 2006 Student Professional Award from the Council of Registered Nurses of BC and the Meg Hickling prize for Sexual Health Education.

6) Newsletters (click here to download PDF file)