CHARLOTTE, N.C. — One in eight couples in the U.S. deals with infertility, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This means about 6.7 million people in the U.S. have trouble conceiving each year.
But in Charlotte, a fertility clinic has some of the best success rates in the country.
According to Newsweek, Carolinas Fertility Institute ranks number nine in the nation when it comes to helping couples struggling with fertility issues.
Not long after getting married, Madison Zamora and her husband tried starting a family.
"We started to go through the process and realized we weren’t getting pregnant," she said.
So they quickly turned to doctors for answers.
"My husband went through tests and things came back not as expected so from there we realized we were going to need help," Zamora said.
They finally landed at Carolinas Fertility Institute, but not until they’d already had three failed IVF attempts at a different clinic.
The fourth round was a success. Zamora is now pregnant with an embryo that was fertilized at Carolinas Fertility Institute, where doctors say artificial intelligence (AI) will soon be a game-changer for the way things are handled inside their lab.
Dr. Tamer Yalcinkaya founded the clinic and said what sets this lab apart is the air filtration system and technology, which allows for leaving the embryos as undisturbed as possible.
"In our lab, we use time lapse imaging incubation system, [which] allows us to keep embryos tucked in for the duration of the incubation five to six days, so they’re not exposed to the outside air, and allows us to evaluate the developing embryos from our computer terminal or smartphone without ever opening the lid of the incubator," Yalcinkaya said.
He said that helps give the embryos the best chance for success.
The next thing will be incorporating AI to sort through thousands of images to help monitor and select the healthiest embryos.
"And analyze them to predict which embryos will have a successful pregnancy," Yalcinkaya said.
Zamora said she and her husband are grateful for the technology and hopeful of what's to come.
"We're excited and nervous -- it’s not a guarantee," Zamora said. "You learn nothing is a guarantee, but mainly excited and positive."
Contact Michelle Boudin at mboudin@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.