Little by little, we were adding more means, resources, specialists, and facilities. In Spain we used for the first time in 1982 the advanced technique of the in vitro fertilisation (IFV) and we started the first egg donation program in 1993. We were the second centre in the world to use the semen washing in HIV-positive men or with Hepatitis C in order to avoid pregnancy at the risk of infecting the partner.
Other significant date for us is 1999, when thanks to Dr. Simón Marina we published the first study in the world about how to get sperm from paraplegic men who cannot ejaculate. Furthermore, in 2001 we created the first egg bank of Spain.
But without doubt, every day is our favourite date, when thousands of people send us their questions, come to visit us or are treated in our facilities.
You write our history.
The most important events of the Cefer Reproductive Institute in the assisted reproduction field are:
- The spread of the IVF-ICSI technique.
- The creation of the first semen bank of Spain in 1977.
- The creation of the first egg bank of Spain.
- Cefer is the first Spanish centre in using the sperm washing in HIV or HCV positive men.
- The study of meiotic chromosomes in collaboration with Dr Egozcue.
- The regular application of the FISH technique in spermatozoa in order to know if the DNA sequences on chromosomes are normal.
- CEFER is the first centre in Spain that has achieved:
- Spermatozoa through prostate massage in paraplegic patients who cannot ejaculate.
- The birth of healthy children from eggs previously frozen.
- The employment of the ROPA technique (reception of oocytes from the partner) in lesbian couples for the first time in the world.
- We have come true the dream of more than 35.000 couples.