CHESTERFIELD 鈥 Dr. Sherman Silber said it was not his decision to shut down a pioneering infertility lab at St. Luke鈥檚 Hospital and ship thousands of frozen eggs and embryos to Texas.
鈥淪t. Luke鈥檚 did it and nobody understands their reasoning,鈥 Silber said Friday after returning from a European conference where he spoke about ovary transplantation, a procedure he was first to perform. 鈥淎ll I know is we were doing extremely well, famous and busy, patients were happy and we were great P.R. for the hospital.鈥
Some of Silber鈥檚 patients from St. Luke鈥檚 received letters this week saying the hospital 鈥渨ill no longer store frozen specimens. 鈥 Your specimens were recently relocated to 鈥榮 Garland, TX Cryostorage center.鈥 Others learned last fall from ReproTech that the company had received their eggs or embryos.
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In a statement Thursday to the Post-Dispatch, St. Luke鈥檚 spokeswoman Kelly Webb-Little said 鈥淧atients have been notified that, upon request, their specimens are available to be transferred to a fertility clinic of their choice.鈥
Webb-Little did not respond Friday to further questions, including whether patients will have to pay for the transfers. While Catholic hospitals do not provide IVF therapies because the practice is considered 鈥渕orally unacceptable鈥 by the church, St. Luke鈥檚 is affiliated with the churches.
Silber said he was informed by St. Luke鈥檚 CEO Andrew Bagnall in May 2023 that the hospital planned to shut down its in vitro fertilization lab.
鈥淲hat happened was simply that a new CEO came and he was charged by the board to help St. Luke鈥檚 declining fiscal situation,鈥 Silber said. 鈥淓ven though I鈥檓 the director I wasn鈥檛 given any authority at all.鈥
Silber said his office sent 鈥渟everal thousand鈥 letters to patients encouraging them to have their eggs and embryos shipped to the Infertility Center in Frontenac, which he opened in January.
鈥淭he lab in Texas is a registered lab, they鈥檙e a safe and proper lab. I don鈥檛 think their materials are in danger but I think it鈥檚 better off with us,鈥 Silber said.
Patients said they were frustrated and scared by the situation after struggling with infertility and spending thousands of dollars in hopes of building a family. They were also upset to be kept in the dark about the transfers with no choice in where their embryos were sent, especially as IVF comes under fire in some Republican-led states.
The Alabama Supreme Court ruled in February that embryos created through IVF are unborn children, even when kept frozen in a laboratory. Some IVF providers in the state suspended services after the ruling.
Silber said Missouri is 鈥渁 very IVF friendly place with probably a greater concentration of IVF centers in St. 亚洲无码 than other cities.鈥
Under Missouri law, parents are the owners of their genetic material.
鈥淚VF doctors feel very safe here,鈥 said Silber, who will continue to perform intricate surgeries like ovary transplants at St. Luke鈥檚 but his IVF treatments at the Frontenac clinic.