Personalized reproductive medicine
Personalized medicine is the medicine of XXI century. We don’t treat diseases…we take care of different people that have different diseases or that are on different clinical scenarios.
When we evaluate the patients’ age, the characteristics of their previous IVF cycles, some hormonal details, semen analysis or some genetic tests, we are allowed to achieve a successful pregnancy with a baby at home earlier and safer.
Nowadays, a lot of evidence has been published about the relevance of each of these factors. This is why we shouldn’t use the same “recipe” for everyone. It is very usual to hear that “a friend of mine was evaluated this way or was treated with this medication…why I am not? Of course, we doctors, have to listen that question and think over it to see if we need to do anything else. But it is important to understand that everything is not useful for everybody, and that those interventions that are not scientifically supported, are usually expensive (talking about money and time) and with low effectiveness.
Many centuries ago and until not so many years ago, doctors made a diagnosis of a disease and then they treated that disease. Now we evaluate our patients, see their singular characteristics, discuss the available alternatives and check them against their preferences. We re-check that our patients understood correctly the pros and cons of each option and offer a personalized treatment that will help us to achieve the goal sooner.
Personalized reproductive medicine came few years ago and will stay for a long time. We have more and more tools to personalize our treatments. Let’s use all of them, and let’s understand that each patient is unique and that the solution is on the test results, on the clinical history, and on their needs, preferences and desires.
