Happy Halloween

Wishing everyone a happy (and Scary) Halloween

"I can eat Manhattan"

One of our pregnant patients said, when asked how she is doing, "I can eat Manhattan!". That is probably one of the funniest comments I have ever heard from a pregnant person.
Bon appetit.

Denver

The ASRM meeting was great and we presented 2 research studies. It was cold and windy and I am happy to be back to such a beautiful weather (no matter how short that may be)!

ASRM Meeting

I am off to the ASRM meeting in Denver. I am presenting 2 abstracts on Tuesday. Hopefully some exciting new advances will also be presented that will be of help to our patients. I will not have much time to visit the city but will try.

CFC's Party

The party was a huge success and the vast majority of the children/babies present were VCRM's successes. The children played in a moon bounce and had a lot to eat. the parents all had a marvelous time. Many of the surrogates were also present and played with the children they helped bring into the world.
Our thanks go to the host who was fantastic and shared his twins' joy at having so many people around.

Here are some photos (courtesy of Ruthi David)

Party Time!

Today is Creative Family Connections (CFC) 2rd annual party. Over the past 6 years, VCRM has been instrumental in increasing the success of CFC's clients, and hence the number of babies expected to be present today. I will post some photos later.
Congratulations to CFC and all its clients!

2010 Best of Reston Award

For the third year in a row, VCRM has received the "2010 Best of Reston" Award in the "Physicians and Surgeons Category by the US Local Business Association (USLBA). Nationwide, < 1% qualified as Three-Time award winners. The USLBA "Best of Local Business" Award Program recognizes outstanding local businesses throughout the country. Each year, the USLBA identifies companies that we believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and community.

NoVA Top Doctor

Dr Sharara was named one of Northern Virginia's Top Doctors by Northern VA Magazine. The Top Docs issue will be out in February 2011 which includes Top Docs in Northern Virginia and the district. In an unprecendeted move, the magazine not only asked local doctors to nominate their peers but asked the hospitals in the area to also rank the top docs regarding internal evaluations, patient reviews, and overall quality of care.

Laptop users beware

One of the worst things guys can do is put their laptops on their laps because of the association with worse sperm parameters. Today a new article shows the terrible damage inflicted on the skin, enough to "toast" the skin of the thighs:
 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1317532/Laptop-heat-toast-skin-thighs.html?ITO=1490

Finally!

It was announced today that the father of In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) Robert Edwards received the 2010 Nobel Prize for medicine. Dr Edwards was responsible for the first IVF birth in the world (Louise Brown) in 1978. Since then, more than 4 million births are due to the use of IVf and related techniques. Currently, about 1% of all births in the US and over 2% of births in Scandinavia are due to IVF. We are thrilled that dr Edwards finally received his due recognition (he is 86).