Reproductive Medicine

Modern assisted reproduction technology offers both infertile women and men the potential to have a healthy child. In addition, Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) with pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) has allowed detection in the early embryo of life threatening single gene related disorders, which through selection of unaffected embryos has enabled the delivery of healthy children to gene carrying or affected parents.

The Reproductive Medicine Unit located at the Guy's Campus comprises the Reproductive Medicine Clinic (RMC), the Assisted Conception Unit (ACU) and the centre for Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD). Together these provide a highly rated comprehensive fertility and reproductive medicine service with over 2000 new patients seen per annum and substantial research potential. The Unit provides the UKs largest and most successful PGD programme and has a pioneering human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research unit. It is also one of the key units for subspecialty postgraduate training in reproductive medicine in the UK.

The recent build on the 11th floor of the Guy's Tower provides state of the art clinical facilities fully compliant with the European Tissue and Cells Directive (EUTCD), as well as full GMP facilities for the production of clinically grade hESC. The Unit has a good network of collaboration between Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and other national research centres (Birmingham Women's Hospital, Aberdeen, St Mary's Hospital) and other sources in the private sector for recrtuitment of patients for studies (e.g. The Lister Hospital, London). International partners include groups in Belgium, Spain and Italy.

The focus on research is improvement in the outcome of fertility treatment, developing novel efficient techniques for PGD and providing materials for establishing stem cell lines from embryos affected by clinically relevant genetic disorders, under GMP conditions.