World fertility experts to meet in Montreal - IVF and IVM patients to provide first-person accounts at 14th Worl...( MONTREAL Sept. 12 / The Montreal-...),Health

MONTREAL, Sept. 12 /PRNewswire/ - The Montreal-based International Society for In-Vitro Fertilization (ISIVF) will host the 14th World Congress on In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) and the Third World Congress on In-Vitro Maturation (IVM), at the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal from September 15 to 19, 2007. The event will bring together the world's leading researchers, clinicians and embryologists in the field of human fertility.

"As IVF and assisted reproductive technologies (ART) continue to advance rapidly and grow in complexity, it has become vital to take a multidisciplinary and international approach to the field," said Dr. Seang Lin Tan, President of the Congress Organizing Committee. "That is the raison d'etre behind these congresses."

The two Congresses will review major scientific breakthroughs and new clinical procedures in the area of ART. Renowned international experts will present the latest information on stem-cell research, preimplantation genetic diagnosis, minimally-invasive surgery, implantation, endometriosis, male infertility, in-vitro maturation of oocytes and fertility preservation and the ethical and social aspects of IVF.

Among the honored guests will be Professor Robert Edwards, who developed the IVF technology which produced the world's first IVF baby, Louise Brown, 29 years ago.

The Congresses will also feature the participation of several patients, who will present their personal odysseys into the area of fertility preservation after having being diagnosed with cancer, severe endometriosis or autoimmune diseases. Among those who have agreed to speak are the parents of the world's first baby conceived from an in-vitro matured and previously cryopreserved oocyte. "Courageous patients play a vital role in the advancement of fertility treatments, which is why we wanted them to tell their stories," added Dr. Tan, Director of the McGill Reproductive Centre and James Edmund Dodds Professor and Chair of McGi
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