Skip to content
Improve fertility naturallyImprove fertility naturally
Improve fertility naturally
Fertility coaching – Improve egg quality naturally
  • Moms over 35
    • Moms over 35
    • Late childbearing today
    • Hints from the Stone Age?
  • Lifestyle
    • Lifestyle
    • Age and getting pregnant
    • Weight and getting pregnant
    • How to improve egg quality at 40+
    • Male infertility
  • Nutrition
    • Nutrition
    • Grains and fertility
    • Mediterranean diet
    • Paleo: An interesting alternative?
    • Alcohol and making babies – too many false alarms?
  • Egg Reserve
    • Egg Reserve
    • What are antral follicles and what antral follicle count will tell you
    • Is egg freezing good for you?
    • Emotional aspects: Infertility hurts
  • Supplements
    • Supplements
    • Folic acid and fertility
    • Vitamin D and egg health
    • DHEA and egg health
    • CoQ10 and egg health
    • Omega-3,-6 and egg health
  • Products that work
  • About me
    • About me – CV
      • About me – personal
    • Disclaimer
    • Privacy Policy
  • Blog
  • Coaching – Skype
    • Fertility Consultations via Skype
    • My clients about me
  • Moms over 35
    • Moms over 35
    • Late childbearing today
    • Hints from the Stone Age?
  • Lifestyle
    • Lifestyle
    • Age and getting pregnant
    • Weight and getting pregnant
    • How to improve egg quality at 40+
    • Male infertility
  • Nutrition
    • Nutrition
    • Grains and fertility
    • Mediterranean diet
    • Paleo: An interesting alternative?
    • Alcohol and making babies – too many false alarms?
  • Egg Reserve
    • Egg Reserve
    • What are antral follicles and what antral follicle count will tell you
    • Is egg freezing good for you?
    • Emotional aspects: Infertility hurts
  • Supplements
    • Supplements
    • Folic acid and fertility
    • Vitamin D and egg health
    • DHEA and egg health
    • CoQ10 and egg health
    • Omega-3,-6 and egg health
  • Products that work
  • About me
    • About me – CV
      • About me – personal
    • Disclaimer
    • Privacy Policy
  • Blog
  • Coaching – Skype
    • Fertility Consultations via Skype
    • My clients about me

My week at Dexeus, one of the top fertility-clinics in Europe


 

ivf clinic spain

My mother was born here.

I was born here.

My two daughters were born here,

says Sofia Veiga, international manager at the Dexeus Clinic for Women’s Health with lots of emotion in her voice.

This is how people normally talk about dear places from their childhood, but rarely about a university clinic, right?

But Dexeus, in Barcelona, is an exception.

About a year ago, I met several of Dexeus co-workers at a conference in Germany. We stayed in touch and in September this year, they invited me to visit their clinic in Barcelona and participate in a week-long workshop at the Department for Reproductive Medicine.

If you’re writing about the fertility of women over 35, then that’s the best thing that can happen to you.

Why?

Because Spain has one of the most progressive laws on reproductive medicine in the world and they are successful in doing things that many other countries (including Germany) still only dream about.

Sofia continued talking as we walked down the Dexeus clinic hall:

At our clinic, we have a 75-year-old patient whom we’ve been following their entire reproductive life. The first Spanish IVF baby was delivered at our Center in 1984. By the way, it was my sister, Anna Veiga, who participated in the team who created that baby. The other half of the team was Dr. Pedro N. Barri, who is now the director at our clinic.

Later on, the director too welcomes me in his office and I become speechless at how relaxed and open everyone is. During a spontaneous conversation it turns out that Dr. Barris’ son is a gynecologist who also works at the clinic. At that moment, he was absent. He’s spending his vacation at the Madagascar—together with his team from the clinic, he’s providing urgent medical care to the rural population and operating women who otherwise don’t have access to advanced medical care (here you can read more about their humanitarian mission).

The first egg donation in Spain was performed at the Dexeus in 1986, continues Sofia.

I blush and feel uncomfortable because Germany, where I live, still does not allow egg donation (as at October 2016). For some reasons, mostly historical, Germany cares about being at the top in all things technical, but is very conservative when it comes to anything even closely related to things going on in a woman’s uterus.

ivf spain which clinic

That’s why I continue to feel like I’m in another world for the rest of the week at Dexeus.

I talk to egg-donation experts and become further convinced as to how good and beneficial this technique is for women with diminished or depleted ovarian reserve.

I visit a lab for pre-genetic screening and become amazed how one single clinic performs more diagnostics on embryos in one single week than Germany does in an entire year!

I talked with many fertility experts and ask questions that I am frequently asked by my blog readers. I couldn’t stop asking and luckily, everyone was happy to tell me all about anything I wanted to know. So there will be a lot more coming in the next weeks, please stick around!

See you soon!

(There are no affiliate links in this post, the text is entirely based on my personal experiences and opinions).


Update February 2020: Dexeus team just wrote to me this morning to share some exciting news about their new research project! 

The team of Dr. Anna Veiga, who leads the study, will develop the CRISPR/Cas9 technique to modify human embryos genome. The study aim is to determine the involvement of several genes in the early stages of human embryonic development. To achieve this, Dr. Veiga’s team will modify these genes by the genetic editing technique CRISPR/Cas9, and they will study the development of the edited embryos.

This is a unique and pioneering project in this field in Spain, which will provide very relevant information to understand the early development of human embryo, and hopefully further improve improve assisted reproduction techniques.

 

Characterization studies of early embryonic development are limited, mainly due to the lack of samples and the obvious legal and ethical limitations. The genetic edition technique CRISPR/Cas9 could be a very strong tool to deepen in this knowledge. This technique acts as directed scissors that modify specific DNA sequences or genes. The CRISPR/Cas9 technique has potential in the treatment of single-cell mutation diseases, because it can be used to eliminate or repair mutated genes in embryos, and thus prevent the birth of children with genetic pathologies. Its application is also useful to study the role of genes in embryonic development, as in the study proposed. However, there are still technical limitations for these applications. On the one hand, it is necessary to modify all embryo’s cells and avoid what is called embryonic mosaicism – the mosaic embryos are those that have cells with a correct number of chromosomes and others chromosomally altered-. Also, there would exist the risk of altering other genes apart from the gene of interest (what is called off-target mutations), which could lead to significant side effects.

The research group of Dra. Anna Veiga, the principal investigator of the Regenerative Medicine Program of the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) and director of R&D in Biology of the Reproductive Medicine Service of Dexeus Mujer, is starting a project called “Genomic edition through CRISPR/Cas9 in human embryos for the study of early embryonic development. EMBRYOCRISPR“. In which, through genetic edition by CRISPR/Cas9, several genes that have a capital importance in embryonic development will be studied. The project will consist of the development of genetic edition by CRISPR/Cas9 in human embryos, to modify some of these genes, and evaluate the evolution of edited embryos in the early stages of embryonic development.

In this project will be used human embryos from the In Vitro Fertilization Program of the Dexeus Mujer’s Reproduction Medicine Service, these embryos are from in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles carried out in this center, that have been voluntarily and altruistically assigned for research by their parents.

Another novelty of this project is the technique used for embryos observation, time-lapse. Which allows continuous and real-time observation of them and their development.

In this project collaborate cellular and molecular biologists from IDIBELL, who will perform genomic edition, and molecular and immunocytochemical analyzes of the edited embryos. Clinical embryologists with extensive experience in embryonic culture and preimplantation genetic screening techniques of Dexeus Mujer, who will assess the efficiency and safety of genomic editing in human embryos, by the analysis of its developmental capacity and characteristics.

A pioneering project that will provide essential data

It is a unique and pioneering project in Spain, which will require experience in assisted reproduction and genetic edition areas. The development of the CRISPR/Cas9 method in human embryos will confirm the results of previous studies, as well as evaluate and solve the technical problems that this technique currently presents. However, the study of the involvement of specific genes in the early stages of embryonic development will provide essential data to deepen in this knowledge, and to establish possible embryonic viability and implantation markers, which could contribute to improving the current results of assisted reproduction techniques.

The project has been authorized by the General Directorate of Health Regulation and Regulation of the Departament de Salut de la Generalitat de Catalunya after having received the approval of the Comisión Nacional de Reproducción Humana Asistida (CNRHA), that considers that there are no ethical, biological or legal objections that impede its development.

Good luck, Dexeus Team!


 

 

Category: Fertility WOMAN, InterviewsBy Darja WagnerOctober 25, 2016
Tags: ARTIVFtreatments
Share this post

Author: Darja Wagner

https://paleo-mama.com

Darja Wagner, a PhD cell biologist combines her knowledge of cells, hormones and vitamins to help women with infertility issues. She is the author of the blog "All About Egg Health: How to Get Pregnant After 35". Darja helps women to apply latest advances in reproductive biology to maximize egg quality for higher chances of conception, in either a natural way or by means of assisted reproductive technology.

Post navigation

PreviousPrevious post:Should you see an Ob-Gyn (gynecologist) or RE (reproductive endocrinologist)? Common confusions you need to be aware ofNextNext post:Which supplements support male fertility? It depends on different things and here is how you can decide

Related Posts

darja wagner fertility
ESHRE, Milan: what just happened – 5 things to know
July 24, 2022
supplements for fertility, hormones for getting pregnant
Five supplements which will improve your egg health fast-track
June 20, 2021
increase amh naturally
Is it possible to increase low AMH levels?
June 1, 2021
painkillers and ovulation
A number of pain-killers can stop ovulation and lower fertility?
May 25, 2021
surrogacy germany
Surrogacy: One real-life experience
May 1, 2021
aspirin heparin after IVF
Aspirin and heparin to help implantation: Yes or No?
April 2, 2021

Read my book and you might not need fertility treatment!


improve egg quality naturally

Individual fertility advice and supplements according to your hormone profile BOOK HERE

Coaching paused due to lockdown madness!

 

Darja Wagner is a cell biologist PhD living in Berlin, Germany. She is a mother of two sons continue reading here

AWARD WINNER Blogs That Really Share Helpful Advice

Ladies, I’m doing a lot to help YOU, so please help me run this blog by linking to its articles (in a forum, blog, etc.). Or simply tell a friend about it, EVERY SINGLE RECOMMENDATION COUNTS! Thank you!

 

 

RECOMMENDED ARTICLES
  • getting pregnant, legs up after intercourse, boost fertility Legs up after intercourse: will it increase the chance of conceiving?
  • lower prolactin naturally, prolactin Slightly elevated prolactin? Three natural ways to lower it
  • increase amh naturally Is it possible to increase low AMH levels?
  • CoQ10 for fertility, CoQ10 enzymes Which CoQ10 is best for fertility: Ubiquinol or Ubiquinone?
  • DHEA egg quality, dhea and fertility DHEA and egg quality

“I LOVE your site! I am a PhD biologist myself and really appreciate your scientific approach…”

“I just wanted to thank you again, you are making a big difference to this community of woman 35 and over and families searching for answers… “

” I’m happy to say that I am five weeks pregnant! I feel great except for the usually early pregnancy symptoms. THANK YOU for your help!…”

Continue reading here…

Texts in German German
Would you like a FREE REVIEW COPY of my #1 Amazon e-book? All you need to do is to read it and then give a short review, whether you liked the book or not? Please email me at darja.wagner@googlemail.com. Thank you!