Welcome to the Southeastern Fertility Center's Home Page

The Southeastern Fertility Center is offers this site as an information resource for couples coping with the difficulties of infertility. Just as our center provides the most advanced treatment for our patients, this site provides the most recent and accurate medical information concerning infertility and reproductive surgery.

Located in Knoxville, Tennessee, the Southeastern Fertility Center specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of male and female infertility problems. Under the direction of Jeffrey A. Keenan M.D., F.A.C.O.G., our patients receive the highest quality medical care available in the region. Dr. Keenan is one of the most experienced and respected specialists in infertility and reproductive medicine and surgery.

We provide updates on this site to ensure you are receiving the latest information. For the latest updates, please click here. If you wish to schedule an appointment at the Southeastern Fertility Center or have questions, please call or use our appointment request form.

SUMMER UPDATE 2008

With summer officially here, we were hoping to see the usually seasonal fluctuations in our request for new patient appointments. However, the price of success can be high, and we continue to be challenged by longer than ideal waiting times for our patients. We appreciate your understanding as we work hard to provide you with the best results and the best care and compassion in the Southeast!

Please note our new location!

On August 1st we will be moving to our new location in Farrugut (West Knoxville). Why the move? Baptist Health System has recently been bought by Saint Mary’s Health System. St. Mary’s is a Catholic institution that believes IVF and similar Assisted Reproductive Techniques are sinful. While we of course don’t agree with their position, we have agreed to respect their request for us to move to another location. Our new office space will also have a self-contained IVF unit and lab, and we will not change the services we offer. We are also in the planning stages for building a brand new facility which will serve us for the long term future as we continue to grow.

Emerging Issues in
Embryo Donation and Adoption Conference
a huge success!

The NEDC, along with Bethany Christian Services, recently co-hosted this conference in Washington, DC. Over one hundred people from across the U.S. attended, with glowing praise for this first-of-it’s-kind event. We are appreciative of the Department of Health and Human Services sponsorship which made this ground-breaking conference possible. Embryo Adoption is an increasingly important option for family building in the U.S. and abroad, with tremendous potential to serve infertile couples in a relatively simple and cost-effect manner.

Center News

New cryopreservation technique now available! We have recently ‘made the switch’ from conventional cryopreservation using slow cooling techniques to the ultra-rapid “vitrification” process. In this process, the cells are prepared slightly differently, and then plunged directly into liquid nitrogen. This helps to avoid ice crystal damage to the cells of the eggs or embryos. Several comparison trials have now found this method to be more effective, so we look forward to even higher frozen egg and embryo pregnancy rates in the future!

Several of our staff will be traveling to Santa Barbara this summer for what is arguably the world’s best course in Assisted Reproduction. We maintain our commitment to excellence by continual learning and discussion/collaboration with some of the world leaders in this field.

Literature Review

A very nice study recently appeared in the European journal Human Reproduction. It showed that, in subfertile couples, every unit of BMI over 30 resulted in a drop of 4-5% in monthly fertility. This is important for several reasons. Obesity is an epidemic in the U.S. and many developed countries around the world. It is no doubt contributing to the growing rate of infertility in our population. Needless to say, this is a self-induced state of infertility which can be overcome by healthy eating and exercise.

To put this in simple terms, a 5 foot, 4 inch female who weights 235 pounds has a BMI of 40. This is 10 units above a BMI of 30, which is the lower limit of what is considered obese. Multiply this number (10) by 4-5% and you will see that this individual has a 40-50% lower chance of getting pregnant over any time period than a normal weight woman. Conversely, by losing enough weight to reduce her BMI to 30, she can effectively double her chances of becoming pregnant! Want to know what your BMI is? Just click the link below and find out. There, you will also find tips on how to achieve a normal body weight.

Adult BMI Calculator

You can also find more about Healthy Eating and Exercise by clicking on this link under “Learn More” on this page.

Legal Disclaimer:
The information contained on this site is for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as medical advice or be substituted for the medical advice of a physician. You should consult a qualified physician about all matters pertaining to your health.

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