Reproductive Medicine Centre

Our hospital’s Center for Reproductive Medicine was established in 1997 and was among the earliest specialized institutions in China to undertake assisted reproductive technologies such as artificial insemination and in vitro fertilization. In 1998, the first baby conceived through artificial insemination was born; in 1999, the first IVF baby was born; in 2002, the first baby conceived through ICSI was born and the first fetal reduction was successfully performed; and in October 2003, pregnancy was successfully achieved after the first frozen-embryo transfer. The Center is now authorized to provide artificial insemination with the husband’s sperm, in vitro fertilization–embryo transfer, intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD; third-generation IVF), fertility preservation, and other technologies. The Center has established a comprehensive system covering the full range of human-assisted reproductive technologies and has successfully passed routine verification and special supervisory inspections organized by the competent national and Chongqing municipal authorities. Integrating medical care, education, and research, the Center conducts clinical diagnosis and treatment as well as clinically oriented basic research related to reproductive endocrinology and infertility. Over the past 3 years, outpatient person-visits have exceeded 200,000, with services extending across southwestern regions including Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, and Tibet. As of May 2024, more than 50,000 healthy babies had been born through fertility assistance provided by the hospital. The Center has made a positive contribution to family happiness and social harmony.

At present, the department has a professional and well-structured talent team comprising 45 staff members, including 13 clinical physicians, 2 other physicians, 8 laboratory technicians, 12 nurses, and 10 clerical staff. There are 12 staff members with senior professional titles, 8 with intermediate professional titles, 13 with doctoral degrees, and 6 with master’s degrees. The department as a whole is young and energetic, with diverse academic backgrounds and a relatively well-rounded knowledge structure. Its members are proactive, eager to learn, and committed to self-improvement, making it a dynamic and creative team.

Our hospital’s Center for Reproductive Medicine consists of the reproductive medicine clinical unit and the in vitro fertilization laboratory. The reproductive medicine clinical area includes a reception and waiting area, consultation rooms, a B-ultrasound room, examination rooms, treatment rooms, a records and archives room, a patient rest room, a sperm collection room, an oocyte retrieval room, an embryo transfer room, and facilities for in vitro fertilization experiments.

The IVF laboratory is designed with laminar airflow and has a Class 1,000 cleanliness level. It is currently equipped with CO2 incubators, an IVF workstation, a micromanipulation system, a laser zona pellucida-opening instrument, biological safety cabinets, and other equipment. Its main activities include conventional in vitro fertilization, embryo culture, embryo transfer, intracytoplasmic sperm injection, laser-assisted hatching, and embryo biopsy for preimplantation genetic diagnosis. Our hospital has established a PGD laboratory with functional areas including a reagent preparation area, a specimen and library preparation area, a WGA preparation area, a library construction and detection area, and a sequencing area. The laboratory is equipped with important instruments and equipment including conventional PCR machines, real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR machines, low-temperature centrifuges, a Qubit 3.0 nucleic acid analyzer, ultraclean benches, biological safety cabinets, Ion OneTouch 2, Ion OneTouch ES, and Proton and Illumina second-generation sequencers.

Scope of diagnosis and treatment: male and female infertility; recurrent miscarriage; diagnosis and treatment of reproductive endocrine diseases, including polycystic ovary syndrome, endometriosis, abnormal uterine bleeding, premature ovarian insufficiency, premature ovarian failure, hyperprolactinemia, menstrual disorders, and amenorrhea; preconception examinations, fertility assessment, preparation for pregnancy, and guidance on eugenics and healthy child-rearing; diagnosis and treatment of difficult, critical, and severe reproductive health conditions; and prevention and control of birth defects.

Specialized diagnostic and treatment technologies: conventional in vitro fertilization–embryo transfer (IVF-ET), intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), preimplantation genetic testing (PGT), artificial insemination (AI), embryo freezing and thawing, freezing and thawing of scarce sperm, in vitro culture of immature oocytes, microsurgical sperm retrieval in andrology, four-dimensional contrast-enhanced ultrasonography of the uterus and fallopian tubes, multifetal reduction in early pregnancy, and female fertility preservation (oocyte and ovarian tissue cryopreservation), among others.

In scientific research, in recent years the Center for Reproductive Medicine has undertaken 11 projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and 17 provincial- and ministerial-level research projects, and has published 75 SCI papers and more than 200 papers in Chinese core journals.

Discipline development: The Center has formed a reproductive medicine specialty alliance with more than 50 hospitals, including the Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, Kaizhou District People’s Hospital, Jiangjin District Maternal and Child Health Hospital, Three Gorges Central Hospital, Youyang People’s Hospital, Fuling Central Hospital, and the Family Planning Hospital, promoting the development of reproductive disease prevention and control as a discipline in southwestern China. Over the past 3 years, it has held 10 international or national academic conferences related to this specialty and disease, continuously improving its multidisciplinary diagnosis and treatment reach and service capacity.

The National 13th Five-Year Plan Outline and the Healthy China 2030 Outline both place particular emphasis on the importance of maternal and infant safety and child health. Ensuring maternal and infant safety is not only the heartfelt hope of every family but also an aspiration for a more harmonious society. Nurturing hope and creating the future, the Center for Reproductive Medicine of the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University has always been committed to disseminating health knowledge, continuously improving the quality of fertility and health-care services, focusing on the treatment of infertility, and helping families realize their wish to have healthy children.