SIU Fertility & IVF Center Invites Families to 8th Birthday Party
The Fertility and IVF Center at Southern Illinois University Medicine will hold its 8th annual birthday party 1-4 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 16, at Erin’s Pavilion in Southwind Park, 4965 S. Second St. in Springfield. 
“This event is an extremely rewarding experience to see these children and know that our team played a role in helping their families,” said SIU Fertility & IVF Center Director Ricardo Loret de Mola, MD. ”It’s our way of celebrating the parents and children we’ve helped.”
In 2017, the center hosted more than 250 parents and children, ranging from newborns to eight year olds.
Patients, families and those interested in fertility services are invited to attend the birthday party. The event is free, but registration is appreciated. Those interested can contact the center at 217-545-8000 or fertilityrsvp@siumed.edu. Please register no later than Sunday, Sept. 9.
The center, which is among the most successful in the region, has served more than 3,000 couples since it opened in 2009. More than 1,750 babies have been born to patients of the center. Statistical information regarding success rates for all in centers in the Chicago to St. Louis region is available at www.sart.org and the Center for Disease Control website.
ABOUT THE SIU FERTILITY & IVF CENTER
The center opened in 2009 to provide a comprehensive approach to finding solutions for couples struggling with fertility. The Center is a member in good standing of the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technologies and its laboratory is accredited by the College of American Pathologists (CAP). According to RESOLVE, the National Infertility Association, one in eight U.S. couples of childbearing age is diagnosed with infertility. The multi-disciplinary practice provides evaluation and treatment options for female and male infertility. Among the treatment options are revolutionary, robotic-assisted surgical procedures, donor gametes (sperm and egg), gestational surrogacy, on-site surgical intervention for treatment of male infertility, ovulation induction and in vitro fertilization including preimplantation diagnosis and screening. Team members include faculty and staff from OB-GYN and urology, psychologists, geneticists and licensed dieticians.