Today, we continue our discussion of auxiliary techniques used in the IVF laboratory—the fourth instalment in this series—with a glance at another sperm selection method: magnetic-activated cell sorting, or MACS.

The human body is, in many ways, a self-maintaining organism that does much of its own in-house tidying. This includes the expungement of cells deemed inferior or hazardous by the system, and deficient sperm are no exception in this regard.

Some sperm are, for various reasons, defective and, being incompatible with the body’s rigorous quality standards, are ‘marked’ for destruction through a process called apoptosis or programmed cell death. Importantly, apoptotic sperm suggest an aspect of DNA fragmentation and, when used to fertilise an egg, may lead to embryonic arrest and miscarriage.

MACS technology offers a means of separating these sperm from the healthy members of the population to help ensure apoptotic sperm are excluded from the fertilisation process. The potential benefits are obvious and well-desirable.

Contact us to learn more about MACS and other accessory lab techniques used by our embryologists to help you conceive.

A keen student of languages, Janina studied tourism and international management at the University of Economics in Prague. She speaks English, German, and Spanish fluently and has begun studying Italian, French, and Catalan as well.

Janina enjoys testing and employing her skill in these languages while travelling around Europe, and it is on such trips that she relishes meeting the residents and exploring the native culture—especially the cuisine—of each place she visits.

Since her earliest days at university, Janina has studied and worked in international environments, both in the Czech Republic and abroad, and has gained much experience in customer service in the process. She is friendly, communicative, and detail oriented and enjoys helping other people. In recent years, Janina has become the mother of two boys and now spends much of her time with her family.

The role of international client coordinator is a new adventure that Janina welcomes, as it combines much of what she likes: speaking in foreign tongues, getting to know new people, and assisting them to achieve their goals—all while sharing with them her beloved home town of Prague.

Notwithstanding the professional methods used by fertility specialists to help a woman conceive, there remain some things she can do at home that contribute to the same end. One of these things is minding her diet. But which are the best foods for fertility, purposes? Cherie has some suggestions.

Go here to read more testimonials.