In vitro fertilization has come to Morgantown, and at least two WVU alumni couldn't be happier about it. Heath and Paula Lemley were one of the first couples to conceive a child through in vitro fertilization at WVU's new Center for Reproductive Medicine. The Lemleys were successful on their first try and are now busily preparing for the birth of their twins, due in mid-June.

The Center opened its doors in the summer of 2002. Staffed by an expert team and located in brand-new private offices on Pineview Drive, the Center offers the latest treatments for infertility, including in vitro fertilization, also known as IVF.

The process involves removing eggs from the woman's ovary and allowing fertilization and early embryo development to occur in a controlled laboratory environment. After a few days, two or three embryos are transferred into the woman's uterus. Usually, only one of the embryos remains attached, resulting in a single, normal pregnancy. Multiple births result occasionally.

Since the first successful IVF pregnancy in 1978, thousands of babies have been conceived through the technique. The average success rate, nationally, for IVF is 30 to 40 percent; the new WVU Center's success rate for its initial group of 50 patients is an impressive 61 percent.

Two newcomers to Morgantown—both highly trained, with impressive credentials and experience—have been central to bringing IVF, and other advanced reproductive procedures for both women and men, to Morgantown. Tamer Yalcinkaya, M.D., is an obstetrician-gynecologist and reproductive endocrinologist with a decade of experience in IVF. Michael Vernon, Ph.D., is a nationally known embryologist who has been involved with IVF since its earliest days in the 1980s.

Yalcinkaya attended medical school at Istanbul University in his native Turkey before coming to the U.S. He did his residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Columbia University in New York and received a fellowship in reproductive endocrinology at the University of California in San Francisco. Before coming to Morgantown, he was on the faculty of WVU's Charleston Division for ten years, where he performed more than 1,000 IVF procedures.

Vernon, an embryologist who received his education and training at the University of Kentucky and the University of Florida, was part of the research team that had the first IVF success in monkeys at the University of Wisconsin's Primate Center. He has been involved with IVF in humans since 1986.

Yalcinkaya is a soft-spoken man with a gentle smile. He credits a high school science teacher with inspiring him to work toward a career in science and medicine. "It is very gratifying," he said, "to be able to help patients who are dealing with infertility. Before in vitro became an option, treatments took longer, and success was much harder to achieve. Now we can help many more couples, and usually much faster."

Since coming to West Virginia in 1992, Yalcinkaya has established a reputation for excellent technical skills and equally superior concern for patients.

"In our business, personal attention is very important. Infertile couples are dealing with huge stresses, and they need a lot of communication and support," said Yalcinkaya. "It's important not only for their emotional well-being, but also for their physical health and a positive outcome."

The Center has been very busy since opening—busier than anyone predicted—and sometimes that means late nights for everyone. Michael Vernon looked happy but admitted to being a bit tired as he took a break to sit down for a few minutes and talk about his work.

Vernon, a native of Kentucky, says moving to West Virginia was a coming-home of sorts for him. "My wife and I had been living in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for the past several years, and as much as we loved it there, I always wanted to get back to the hills," he said. "Morgantown feels like home."

While the reproductive endocrinologist handles the care and treatment of the mother before, during, and after IVF, the embryologist is charged with the care and handling of the eggs, sperm, and developing embryos while they are outside of the mother's uterus. Vernon's laboratory is a pristine environment with carefully controlled air quality and specialized microchambers that prevent contamination.

Vernon believes a variety of factors account for the Center's record of success. "First, we have a highly experienced team. Second, we have all the latest high-tech tools. There is nothing you can find anywhere in the country that we don't have here. Finally, we place a strong emphasis on controlling the quality of everything that we do," he said.

Heath and Paula Lemley are proud WVU alumni. Heath, an ophthalmologist with Regional Eye Associates, completed his bachelor's degree here in 1990, his medical degree in 1994, and his residency in 1998. Paula, a physical therapist with Care Partners, earned two bachelor's degrees at WVU-one in physical education in 1991 and another in physical therapy in 1993. They went through the University together and married in 1992, after Heath's second year of medical school.

"In our twenties, we were busy with our education and our careers," said Heath. When we got into our thirties, we decided it was time to start a family. But, after three years of trying to conceive, nothing had happened."

Medical tests showed that Paula's fallopian tubes were irreparably damaged, making IVF the couple's only option for conceiving and bearing their own child. This coincided happily with the Center's opening.

From the start, the Lemleys say, they were extremely impressed with the expertise and helpfulness of the new Center's staff. "As healthcare professionals, we understand the hard work it takes to give patients the care they really need," said Paula. "The doctors, the nurses, everyone was great to us. They scheduled visits around our needs. They even gave us their home phone numbers."

If anyone can handle twins and not lose their cool, Heath and Paula seem like they can.

Calm and cheerful, they describe three years of trying to conceive as disappointing but not overwhelming, and three months of the injections, appointments, and procedures involved in IVF as "pretty much smooth sailing."

And, although the Center aims, as much as possible, for single pregnancies, the Lemleys are excited and happy about becoming the parents of twins who, Paula says, are "even more precious" to their parents for the special way in which they were conceived.

One of the high-tech tools at the Center, said Vernon, is a cryopreservation chamber, which allows for the freezing of embryos that are not implanted into the woman's uterus. If the implanted embryos do not attach on the first trial of IVF, additional embryos can be implanted without subjecting the woman to additional hormone injections and egg removal. Or, more embryos can be implanted later when the couple is ready for more children. Sperm also can be cryopreserved for later use. (See sidebar.)

Other important members of the team at the Center include Roger Toffle, WVU's director of reproductive endocrinology and infertility, and Mark Gibson, a faculty member in the obstetrics and gynecology department at WVU. In addition to treating infertility, the Center provides care for a broad range of other problems of the reproductive system. A donor egg program can help women whose own eggs are not of the quality needed for IVF. Other specialized treatments are available as well.

As for the Lemleys, the words "the calm before the storm" seem appropriate. They proudly share several ultrasound images of Paula's eggs before fertilization, then some of the developing embryos soon after fertilization. Paula shows off her growing belly and hopes she'll make it to 36 weeks, considered full-term for twins. She is taking one day a week off from work to prepare for the new additions.

Otherwise, for Heath and Paula Lemley, and for the team of WVU doctors and nurses they call "a part of our family forever," life goes on.

Summer 2003 Contents

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