by
Virgilio M. Novero, Jr., MD
Founding PSFP President
Between 2010-2015, the fields of reproductive medicine and oncology appeared to be working in unison in many parts of the world with discussions on fertility preservation being observed in many international congresses. Locally, a few had ventured to give the first talks about a new field although no one had any particular training or experience.
In August 2015, a handful of clinicians and one embryologist from the Center for Advanced Reproductive Medicine (CARMI) at the St. Luke’s Medical Center Global City embarked on a 3-day workshop on ovarian tissue cryopreservation (OTC) at the St. Marianna University in Kanagawa, Japan just outside Tokyo. It was the first ever formal training in OTC carried out by a Philippine group which was headed by yours truly and accompanied by Dr. Ching Ilao-Oreta, Debbie Meguizo, Danny Milla and embryologist Mike de Guzman. We met Prof. Nao Suzuki and his assistant Dr. Seido Takae. Armed with new, exciting knowledge and skill, we invited the same group to come to Manila for a Philippine workshop on OTC.
Back in St. Luke’s Global City, we organized the first Philippine multidisciplinary committee with the Fertility Preservation Committee for Men and Women in September 2015. It was composed of reproductive medicine specialists, medical and surgical oncologists, urologists, and an embryologist. In the next few months, the first local cases of OTC were performed in CARMI. On February 2016, an International Ovarian Tissue Cryopreservation seminar workshop was organized at St. Luke’s Global City with Professor Suzuki and Dr. Seido as guest faculty. Prof. Klaus Yding Andersen of Denmark was also present. At that time, Prof. Suzuki invited yours truly to be the Philippine representative and board member to the Asian Society for Fertility Preservation (ASFP), a new regional society that he was organizing. True enough, the inaugural meeting of ASFP was held in Ho Chi Minh city with Prof Nao as founding president and myself as a member of the board and Philippine representative. Fertility preservation as a rapidly developing field and the need to spread awareness was emphasized throughout the meeting. The same thoughts were repeated in the 2nd ASFP meeting in New Dehli, India in 2018. In a few local congresses such as the Philippine Society for Reproductive Medicine (PSRM) Annual Congress of 2018 and the Oncofertility Symposium of St. Luke’s Quezon City (March 2018), the need for learning fertility preservation became an increasing local demand.
In January 2019, with the election of gynecologic oncologist Dr. Cecile Llave as president of the Philippine Society of Oncology (PSO), I sought her help in organizing a joint congress with the soon-to-be organized Philippine Society for Fertility Preservation. With the scheduled annual convention in September 2019, we began setting the groundwork. The first informal meeting of clinicians from various disciplines (REIs, gyne oncologists, med oncologists, surgical oncologists, pediatric oncologists, etc) was held at Lorenzo’s Way restaurant in BGC in March 2019. Plans were put in place. Soon after, I was invited in a culminating meeting of the National Cancer Control Act at the PMA building in April 2019. There, fertility preservation was included in the cancer management protocol of the Department of Health. Finally, after a few months of labor, the SEC approval for the official existence of the PSFP was granted on July 23, 2019 with 15 incorporators from various disciplines.
On September 19, 2020, the Inaugural Meeting and Induction of Officers and members of the Philippine Society for Fertility Preservation was held at the Makati Residences Hotel. The Philippines became only the 4th Asian country with a dedicated society for fertility preservation. With ASFP president Prof. Nao Suzuki as inducting officer, a total of 178 founding members from various specialties took their oath with Dr. Eileen Manalo as Vice President and yours truly as the founding President. A whole new world of collaboration between specialties was born in the Philippines.