For immediate release

October 20, 2004

Dr. Eric Surrey Elected President of Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology

Reducing incidence of multiple births is top priority for Colorado physician

ENGLEWOOD, COLORADO – Reproductive endocrinologist Eric Surrey, M.D., medical director at the Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine (CCRM), has been elected 2005 president of the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART), the organization that sets the standards for assisted reproductive technology (ART). Surrey begins his tenure as president today.

Working in a field of medicine that is as emotionally charged as it is clinically complex, Surrey says decreasing the incidence of multiple pregnancies resulting from in vitro fertilization (IVF) is among his top priorities for his year-long tenure as president.

“The biggest obstacle in infertility treatments is multiple births, which often raises serious medical complications for the mother and her babies,” said Surrey. Establishing stronger guidelines encouraging single embryo transfers (SET), and educating the public about SET and the risks associated with multiples are critical, according to Surrey.

Surrey also plans to raise public awareness about new technologies and developments associated with IVF and other infertility treatment options, and increase clinicians’ and the public’s access to accurate, timely data on ART outcomes. Many times, would-be patients base their decision on where to seek infertility treatment based on ART data that, once published by the Centers for Disease Control, can be outdated by two or three years.

“It currently takes several years from the time the data is collected and submitted to when it’s available to the public,” said Surrey. “By streamlining the recording of data, the hope is to provide would-be patients with the most current information available so they can make informed decisions regarding their infertility treatment."

A patients’ rights advocate, Surrey plans to leverage his new role as SART president in protecting healthcare access. He hopes to foster a positive, ongoing working relationship with government regulating authorities to encourage funding for more expansive research programs. To make infertility treatment more accessible and affordable, Surrey will continue to support a nationwide insurance mandate to help cover the costs associated with infertility care.

Surrey is a board-certified reproductive endocrinologist who completed his residency and fellowship training in the department of obstetrics and gynecology at the UCLA School of Medicine in Los Angeles, California. Prior to joining CCRM in 1999, Surrey was an associate clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at UCLA and is a former director of the division of reproductive medicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and the Assisted Reproductive Technologies Program at Century City Hospital in Los Angeles.

Additional information is available by visiting www.colocrm.com.

About Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology SART is the premiere organization of professionals dedicated to the practice of assisted reproductive technologies in the United States. The organization includes more than 370 practice members, representing over 95 percent of the ART clinics in the nation. SART’s mission is to promote and advance the standards for the practice of assisted reproductive technology to the benefit of our patients, members and society at large. For more information, visit www.sart.org.

 ###

[Return to the Press Room]