Making Babies

By Thomas Kosasa, M.D.
Medical Director of Pacific In Vitro Fertilization Institute

Founded in 1985, Pacific In Vitro Fertilization Institute is Hawaii’s first IVF clinic. Our clinic was one of the earliest IVF centers in the nation, and the very first IVF baby in Hawaii was born with our help. Since 1985, we have been helping couples and individuals who are struggling to have children, and are rewarded with each and every visit by our ever-expanding extended family.

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Thomas Huang, Ph.D., works with the new EmbryoScope at Pacific In Vitro Fertilization | Photo courtesy Hawaii News Now

Pacific In Vitro is led by a team of four board-certified physicians with years of experience in IVF, reproductive endocrinology, fertility and OB/GYN. All Pacific IVF physicians are Fellows of American Fertility Society (AFC), Society for Assisted Reproductive Technologies (SART) and American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG). I am a professor emeritus and past chief of reproductive endocrinology at John A. Burns School of Medicine, and our co-director, Dr. Bruce Kessel, is current chief of reproductive endocrinology and infertility at John A. Burns School of Medicine. Thomas Huang, Ph.D., ELD, HCLD, is Pacific In Vitro’s on-site laboratory director and is an associate professor at John A. Burns School of Medicine.

At Pacific In Vitro, we strive to give our patients the best care with state-ofthe-art equipment. Our laboratory recently acquired an EmbryoScope, which is one of the latest advancements in IVF technology. The EmbryoScope allows embryologists to monitor the complete development of embryos without removing them from the incubators. Embryos are extremely sensitive to changes in temperature, light and oxygen, so keeping them in a closed environment is most ideal for their development. The EmbryoScope makes continuous documentation possible and also maximizes the information collected in this crucial stage. Embryologists now are able to screen abnormalities more effectively and select the best embryo for embryo transfer. Embryos that are monitored in the EmbryoScope have a higher chance of resulting in a healthy pregnancy, and it gives patients the best possible chance of getting pregnant. Pacific In Vitro is one of the few centers in the United States to have this equipment.

Pacific In Vitro holds free monthly seminars on in vitro fertilization. You can visit our website at pacificinvitro.com, or call us at 946-2226 to sign up or for more information.