Bonus Episode: Be Part of a Clinical Study – Endometrial Receptivity

In this bonus episode of Focus on Fertility we sit down with reproductive specialist, Dr. Mira Aubuchon of MCRM Fertility to discuss an on-going clinical study that you may be interested in participating in. The study involves the Endometrial Receptivity Assay (ERA) test and investigates a possible new, non-invasive method of completing the test. Dr. Aubuchon sheds some light on the ERA test, what it is and why it can be beneficial to those who are preparing or planning on completing an embryo transfer. She also introduces a current clinical study that is actively accepting participants. The study is being performed, globally, at a select number of IVF centers. This includes four U.S. Centers (MCRM Fertility, IVF Florida, RMA Connecticut and Dominion Fertility) and one center in Canada (Pacific Centers for Reproductive Medicine). Additional centers are participating from Argentina, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

Individuals interested in becoming a participant must meet the following criteria:
Because the study evaluates uterine bacteria, you cannot have taken any antibiotics within 90 days prior to enrolling unless those antibiotics have been given as part of the routine IVF care.

Enrolling can take place 30 days or more after the last IVF cycle’s antibiotics are taken
You also must not have had any serious infections including flu within 90 days of enrolling and your blood infection screening should be negative.

Your uterus should be normal, and the tubes should not be large and dilated. It’s fine to enroll if surgery has corrected the uterine or tubal problem or if your physician feels the uterine problem will not affect the outcome of the transfer.

If you have an IUD, it needs to be removed at least 3 months prior to enrolling
Because weight can affect how your uterus responds to hormones, your weight relative to your height (body mass index) needs to be in the range 18.5-30 kg/m2 (can be calculated on many websites).

If using your own eggs you should be age 40 or younger and your menstrual cycles should last for 3-4 days and occur within the range every 26-35 days.

If you are using an egg or embryo donor then your age should be 50 or younger- it’s fine if your cycles are irregular or don’t come at all.

The embryos should be created using sperm from either partner or a donor whose semen analysis has more than 2 million sperm per milliliter.

Those selected to participate in the clinical trial will receive the ERA testing at no cost; however, some additional costs for medication and monitoring may be required.

To learn more about this study, contact MCRM Fertility or visit the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Trial page.