LifeQuest Articles

IVF is both a test and a treatment. There are two components to fertility (besides the male and female aspect). There is both a Macro and Micro side to fertility.

Macrofertility involves all the “pipes and plumbing”. In other words, all the parts of both reproductive tracts that have to be functioning in order to allow sperm and egg to meet.

Microfertility examines the thousands of steps needed to get the sperm and egg to interact. Until a couple proceeds with IVF we have no way of looking at the micro-side of fertility. We have sperm and egg interacting in the culture dish. We can see if the sperm can “drill into the egg” (the acrosome on the front of the sperm cell). We can see how hard the egg shell “zona” is. We can observe those thousands of steps within the dish and fix what needs to be fixed in order to create embryos.

Over the past few years, physicians have been ordering an AMH test for their infertility patients with increasing frequency. Exactly what is this test and why is it useful?

AMH (Anti-Müllerian hormone), or as it is sometimes called, MIS (Müllerian inhibiting substance) is a hormone that is produced by both men and women throughout their lifetimes. It appears first in male fetuses, and is responsible for the suppression of the development of the Müllerian ducts. In female fetuses, these ducts develop to form the fallopian tubes, uterus, and upper portion of the vagina; in the male, due to the production of AMH, they don’t develop.

Total Wellness Centre is dedicated to helping women conceive. We specialize in traditional Chinese medicine treatments (TCM) including fertility acupuncture and herbal remedies.*

Our aim is to deliver top quality health care in a caring, stress-free and relaxing environment. Our treatments complement Western fertility treatments.

LifeQuest has completed a much-anticipated renovation, its second in as many years, to further expand on-site laboratory services. In addition to having the most comprehensive, on-site embryology lab of any private infertility clinic in Canada, LifeQuest now has a fully-equipped, stand-alone Andrology Lab. Located on the 11th floor at 655 Bay St, just a few floors below the clinic, LifeQuest’s Andrology Lab will handle all sperm washes, semen analysis and DNA Fragmentations. “Because the lab is larger and has a greater capacity, we’ll be able to double the number of tests and diagnostics we can perform. For LifeQuest patients, this means shorter waiting times and faster results for these tests and treatments,” said Jim Meriano, Lab Director at LifeQuest. With two strategically located rooms for sperm collection, the 11th floor also provides more privacy for male patients. Finally, Total Wellness Centre, a clinic providing acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine services specifically tailored to fertility issues will be located beside the LifeQuest Lab. For more information about the 11th Floor Andrology Lab and its services, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.