Fertility center opens at SIU

SPRINGFIELD -- The medical school at Southern Illinois University in Springfield has opened a new fertility center.

Three SIU faculty physicians and three senior laboratory staff members will work at the center, which will deal exclusively with fertility and in vitro fertilization.

It's called the SIU Fertility and IVF Center and will also offer an egg-donation and surrogacy program.

School officials say staff at the newly-constructed $2.5 million building will have access to latest technologies and robotic instruments available.

For instance, the center has a highly-specialized air-purification system.

The center's medical director Dr. Gary Horowitz says one in every nine couples has troubles conceiving.