IVF Davao Marks 7th Year in Mindanao: Celebrating Life – Realizing the Dream of Parenthood
In-Vitro Fertilization Davao Inc. (IVF Davao) marked its 7th year anniversary in Mindanao on October 23, 2022 with its theme ‘Celebrating Life – Realizing the Dream of Parenthood’.
I remember way back in October 2016, we attended Merck Give Life to Dreams in Partnership with IVF Davao for Fertility Awareness Month 2016. It was during the time of the first anniversary of IVF Davao.
IVF Davao is the first of such IVF facility in Mindanao that opened way back in 2015 providing fertility, IVF and other reproductive technology services for couples by helping them in their journey and dream of becoming parents. IVF Davao continues to celebrate life and help infertile parents realize dreams of parenthood. As of 2020, IVF Davao had 122 babies.
1. Dr. Maria Lourdes Cabling (Medical Director, IVF Davao)
2. Dr. Jeanmarie Cabrera-Salvador (President, IVF Davao)
3. Dr. Irene Lubaton-Uy (Infertility Specialist/Corporate Secretary, IVF Davao)
4. Dr. Marie Janice Alcantara-Boquiren (Infertility Specialist, IVF Davao)
5. Henry Wilson (Managing Director Merck, Inc & Healthcare Gen Manager)
6. Pixie Yee (Fertility, Regional Franchise Lead, Merck)
7. Couple Representatives – Dr. Dessa Marie Esperat and husband, Mr. Jomel Esperat
Will not seat at the presidential table but will be part of the panel
Dr. Raymond Tapang (Medical Director, Merck)
A presscon was held in Dusit Thani Davao where our Vice President Sara Duterte gave a message for IVF Davao which you can watch HERE.
Among the highlights of the day-long anniversary celebration was a reunion of children who were conceived through the IVF facility. Aside from fun activities that engaged families, some parents shared testimonials about how IVF Davao had helped them go through the journey to parenthood.
IVF Davao also hosted a lay forum to discuss causes and common misconceptions about infertility. The activity featured resource speakers from IVF Davao.
“We are fulfilled to have been helping many families realize their dreams of having their own children through IVF technology,” said Lourdes Cabling, IVF Davao Medical Director. “Throughout our seven-year history, we have welcomed many couples and helped them go through the parenthood journey with comfort, care, and utmost guidance.”
IVF for couples
IVF is a medical procedure wherein an egg cell and a sperm cell, extracted from a couple, are combined for fertilization within a laboratory facility. The fertilized egg or embryo is then injected into the woman’s uterus after about two weeks, inducing pregnancy.
IVF Davao offers assisted reproductive technology services including egg freezing, sperm freezing, embryo freezing, testicular sperm extraction, intracytoplasmic sperm injection, and fertility counseling. It provides a patient-centered care service and treatment for all age groups. The center has invested in equipment to implement the newest medical technologies for fertility.
Reproductive expertise support
“Merck is happy to support IVF Davao, which we consider as a milestone in itself in terms of making the technology available to more Filipino families. This is in line with our company’s commitment to building families and enabling many couples to achieve their dreams of becoming parents,” said Henry Wilson, Managing Director and General Manager of Merck, Inc. (Merck).
Merck Inc. is the Philippine affiliate of the global pharmaceutical firm Merck KGaA, a global market leader in fertility treatments. It has actively supported fertility health in the country by participating in lay discussions and disseminating disease-related information. Through its Journey to Pinoy Parenthood page on Facebook, Merck helps increase public awareness about infertility and its related health issues.
Apart from infertility, Merck offers a variety of treatment options to challenge difficult diseases in the areas of immunology, oncology, and cardiometabolism, among other therapeutic areas.
Infertility in PH
Based on the 2011 study by market research firm Synovate, about 10% of Filipino couples are infertile. That was higher compared to about 8% infertility rate in the Philippines reported in 2004 by the United Nations Development Program.
The World Health Organization defines infertility as “failure to achieve a clinical pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular unprotected sexual intercourse.” Medical experts cite several factors leading to infertility, including heredity, lifestyle, age, and the overall health of a couple.
IVF Davao is located at:
Ground Floor
Brokenshire Women’s Center Building,
Brokenshire Hospital
Madapo Hills
Davao City
You may also contact the facility thru
Telephone: (082) 298 0311
Mobile phone number: 0927 2019568
IVF Davao website: http://ivfdavao.com
About Merck
Merck, a leading science and technology company, operates across life science, healthcare, and electronics. More than 60,000 employees work to make a positive difference in millions of people’s lives every day by creating more joyful and sustainable ways to live. From advancing gene editing technologies and discovering unique ways to treat the most challenging diseases to enabling the intelligence of devices – the company is everywhere. In 2021, Merck generated sales of € 19.7 billion in 66 countries.
Scientific exploration and responsible entrepreneurship have been key to Merck’s technological and scientific advances. This is how Merck has thrived since its founding in 1668. The founding family remains the majority owner of the publicly listed company. Merck holds global rights to the Merck name and brand. The only exceptions are the United States and Canada, where the business sectors of Merck operate as MilliporeSigma in life science, EMD Serono in healthcare, and EMD Electronics in electronics.
