Thirty Years of Advances!

In the past week, I've received two separate invitations to the upcoming symposium in Montreal entitled Thirty Years of Advances in Reproductive Endocrinology and ART: A Celebratory Congress. This four-day congress (May 27-31, in Montréal, Quebec, Canada) will celebrate the achievements of our RE, Dr. Seang Lin Tan, over the past thirty years and it will honour the pioneer of IVF, Professor Robert Edwards (2010 Nobel Laureate). The topics to be discussed do look extremely interesting, that's for sure. They'll be looking at

• in-vitro maturation


• poly-cystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)


• fertility preservation


• psychological aspects of infertility treatments


• blastocyst culturing


• preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD)


• types of luteal support


• patient selection


• other advances in ART over the last thirty years

It's certainly an ever-changing science as technology permits us to be more precise with treatments in order to give patients the best probable outcome.

As mentioned in the invitation to me, "Although this meeting is meant for healthcare professionals, a well informed patient can benefit from the congress as well." I consider myself fairly well informed on the topic of infertility and its treatment, and as an advocate, I would certainly love to attend the congress.

Alas, with Hubby in school, our tight budget doesn't permit my indulging in this right now. I'm sure there'll be other opportunities in the future though. That said, I ought to look into whether there'll be an opportunity to obtain notes from the discussions. Additionally, although I can't attend, maybe you or someone you know would like to. If so, I can certainly put you in touch with the Associate Project Manager who sent me the invitation. Do let me know.

Wishing all my fellow IF bloggers a wonderful (spring!) week!