Best Practices: New Hope Fertility Center
Founder John Zhang on the future of fertility treatment in the U.S.
If you’re talking fertility treatment just about anywhere in the world, Dr. John Zhang’s name will come up in conversation. His assisted reproductive practice, New Hope Fertility Center, is responsible for some of the most pioneering research and processes in fertility internationally. He is among the first in the United States to use vitrification, the process of flash-freezing eggs to ensure sustained quality over a period of years. He has also trailblazed the use of mini-IVF and needleless IVF, as well as a new process that is giving hope to thousands of women called ovarian rejuvenation. While he works nearly every day of the week and it’s unclear when he makes time to sleep, Dr. Zhang was kind enough to make time answer some of our questions about his practice and what lies ahead in the future of fertility treatment.
Why come to New Hope Fertility Center?
There are a lot of reasons, but I’ll give one crucial one, which is math and a proven track record. You need to assume it’s going to take two to three cycles to get all the eggs you want — usually 30 to 60 — depending on your egg traits. That’s three months right there, and then you’ll freeze them, a process that takes a month to get the billing and storage all set up and get it to the area you want. Then, figure an average five years of freezing before you’re going to thaw them and want to get pregnant. The average woman is going to have to go through three cycles of IVF again in order to get pregnant. That’s another three months, plus nine of pregnancy. So by doing the math, women need to be looking for a center that’s been egg freezing for about eight years, and has had live births to prove that their egg freezing works.
When you’re looking at places that have been doing egg freezing in the range of seven-to-eight years, the number of eligible centers around the country dwindles to about 10 places. We’re one of them!
Can you talk about the pros and cons of practicing assisted reproduction in this country?
The advantages are many, patient autonomy being at the top of the list. The US allows cutting-edge tech like Preimplantation Genetic Screening. Gestational Carrier is permitted, as are donor eggs, which in many countries are prohibited. From that point of view, the United States really embodies freedom and the concept that patients should make their own decisions. Why does the government have to be the gatekeeper to tell who should have baby with whom? I think from that perspective, it’s pretty great.
On the other hand, government support for reproductive medicine is low. Everything is done privately and without government sponsorship. Stem cell research and other new technologies are prohibited, whereas in other countries this type of study is promoted, and supported by government agencies dedicated to endeavor, which is absent here. It’s very, very different. From that point of view, American policy may not be the best at diversifying. But it is very good from an ethical point of view when it comes to patient choice. At New Hope, we actually have partnerships all over the world, in places like Greece, the Ukraine, England and all over the United States. What’s great about that is you can delegate parts of research to different teams around the world to accomplish different things. That’s how we’re able to keep moving forward.
What office amenities are you most proud to offer your patients?
There are many of them! We have patients from no less than 85 countries, and our staff encompasses about 20 nationalities. So we make sure that you can usually find reports in our office in a language you speak. We also pilot various limited-time initiatives — most recently an acupuncture program right here within the center. Our kids room accommodates parents coming in for treatment to have their second or third child while being sensitive to the needs of those in the waiting room trying for their first. We offer food and beverages throughout the day — coffee, tea, and breakfast things in the morning, and fruit in the afternoon — because that makes waiting a bit easier.
What do you think is the next big development in fertility treatment?
There are three parts to this answer. I’ll start with the ones which are further in the future, which are that first, with the current research advances in cell reconstitution, stem cell development, and the applications of of 3D technology to gene editing, we will be able to have a baby without sperm or and egg.
Second, we should also soon be able to avoid any kind of unwanted genetic disease or to promote some very wanted traits or genes and finally, the part that will come first: getting a woman between the ages of 43 to 53 to have a baby with her own egg. Fertility treatment has been happening since 1978 — that’s 50 years! We can solve nearly all other fertility issues save for a woman’s age. For men with severe infertility, stem cells can now be used to create artificial sperm. It used to be very hard to freeze extra embryos, now we can. It was previously difficult to treat a patient with very few eggs. Now, we can do that. The only problem that is still the same as 1978 is that once a woman doesn’t produce good quality eggs anymore, we don’t have any other alternative besides using donor eggs. I predict the next big development will be that a woman between the ages of 43 to 52 can still have a baby with her own egg as long as she’s still menstruating. That is the very last obstacle to be overcome in human reproduction in the near future. This actually will be very exciting and spur a wave of global change.
Life expectancy for the female in developed countries is about 70 to 80 years. Currently mothers spend half of that life span — the second half — infertile. If you delay that infertility 10 to 15 years, it’s going to change social economics, how women accumulate wealth, when they may choose to get married. It will prompt massive changes in economic growth in multiple sectors, including housing, hospital maternity units, goods for children. My grandmother had had her first grandchild by age 41. Now that age is when women are starting to get married. It’s fitting — we cannot have the same lives as our grandmothers!
Vital Signs
Piece of tech that makes your life easier: This will still be the transvaginal ultrasound. It’s literally a third eye in terms of seeing how the ovaries are doing. Otherwise I’d say information tech has really changed the way I practice. I talk with patients on WeChat, Weibo and Facebook!
Important factor in choosing your profession: My mother was a very accomplished OB-GYN doctor and a fertility specialist. She’s actually in the Who’s Who book of famous doctors in China.
Fun office factoid: Auspiciously, the starfish in the giant aquarium we have near reception had babies a couple of months ago.
Learn more about New Hope Fertility Center here!
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