novum - Zentrum für Reproduktionsmedizin

Anyone pursuing a wish for a baby in the Ruhr metropolitan region will find at novum in Essen a center that goes well beyond the classic treatment options. In addition to IVF, ICSI, and insemination, the range of services includes natural IVF, blastocyst culture, TESE, and elective egg freezing and medical fertility preservation, among others. For lab diagnostics, supplementary procedures such as time-lapse imaging, PICSI, laser-assisted hatching, EmbryoGlue, and EMBRACE are available. A specific focus is on extended male fertility diagnostics: Since 2024, novum has offered the CatSper test, which detects a genetically caused defect in the CatSper protein of sperm. Affected men are considered unremarkable in routine diagnostics, even though spontaneous fertilization or IVF remain without result because the sperm cannot penetrate the egg’s outer shell. Only ICSI makes fertilization possible in these cases. This diagnostic option has so far been rare in German fertility clinics. Since April 2024, novum has also been a state-approved PGT center, in cooperation with SYNLAB MVZ Humane Genetik München. Preimplantation genetic testing is open to couples with a genetic predisposition that carries a high risk of a serious hereditary disease or of stillbirths and miscarriages. The center also helps with applications to payers in Germany. The medical team continues its education on an ongoing basis: At the 2025 ESHRE annual congress in Paris, some of the physicians attended in person, while others followed the REPROFACTS meeting. In January 2025, two specialist physicians passed the subspecialty examination in gynecologic endocrinology and reproductive medicine with the North Rhine Medical Association. Another physician was accepted into the three-year international ORBIS mentoring program, which is aimed at supporting early-career experts in reproductive medicine. Cryostorage is carried out in cooperation with Cryostore, whose facility has been supplied with liquid nitrogen fully automatically since 2023 and guarantees a storage temperature of minus 190 degrees Celsius (minus 310°F) for several weeks even during power outages or supply interruptions.