Hello this is Angelo Allard, General Supervisor for Seattle Sperm Bank, writing to you from scenic Ogunquit, Maine, at day 1 of the New England Fertility Society Conference.
Today began with registration and a meet-and-greet dinner reception. I had the privilege of dining with Steve Pool, director of Fairfax Cryobank. We spoke about current challenges and excitements in the sperm banking business, including the recent research being done about the alarming male fertility rates around the world.
After dinner, Dr. David Albertini gave a presentation on “The State of Utility for oocyte Freezing in the Context of Standardization”. Dr. Albertini’s main focus was that scientific facilities around the world need to have standardized procedures for the freezing of oocytes and that ways to “improve” on the freezing of oocytes should not be a focus until standardization has occurred.
Following the presentation all the conference attendees flooded the exhibition hall for dessert and to visit all the exhibitor tables and booths. During this time I met with Kelly Roche, creator of My Mobile Fertility which is a mobile application that aids those seeking fertility treatments of any kind in their search for information and physicians. I also got to speak with Dr. Kathy Do, laboratory director for The Reproductive Science Center of New England. She described how happy her clinic and their patients have been with our services and donor sperm options.
My night ended with getting to meet with Dr. Albertini, where we shared a late night appetizer and spoke about the incredible blessing it is to work in the fertility field, helping the childless achieve their dreams of having children. More to come tomorrow!