National Embryo Donation Academy to Host Dinner and Lecture, Provide CEU/CME/CNEs at ASRM 2012 San Diego

The lecture, Embryo Donation – The Gift of Life, A Comprehensive Perspective, will be presented in five segments by industry leaders, each focusing on a different aspect of embryo donation including the medical, legal, ethical, social and nurse coordinator perspectives. Areas receiving accreditation at the dinner are: medicine, nursing, social services, and laboratory.

NEDA is funded through a grant from the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to increase awareness and provide education to professionals who work with couples considering donating their embryos or those interested in receiving donated embryos with hopes of achieving pregnancy and having a family. The program is administered through the National Embryo Donation Center (NEDC), http://www.embryodonation.org, a clinic based, non-profit agency that promotes the donation of remaining human embryos to infertile couples.

NEDA is composed of a professional faculty who will present in their respective areas of expertise:

•     Jeffrey Keenan, MD - NEDA Dean and Medical Director for the NEDC, is board certified in obstetrics/gynecology and reproductive endocrinology/infertility. He is a professor at the University Of Tennessee Graduate School Of Medicine, and is the director of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility.
•     Robert D. Visscher, MD - a retired obstetrician/gynecologist and certified reproductive endocrinologist. He is the past Medical Director and Executive Director of ASRM, a national representative and advocate organization for reproductive medicine professionals
•     Curtis E. Harris, MS, MD, JD - Chief of Endocrinology-Chickasaw Indian Nation, Director-Chickasaw Nation Diabetes Care Center, Adjunct Professor of Law-Oklahoma City University School of Law, Assistant Clinical Professor-Department of Endocrinology-Oklahoma University Medical School, and the PLICO Professor of Medical Ethics-Oklahoma State School of Medicine.
•     Debra Peters, MBA, MA, LMSW, LPC -Director of National Fertility Support Center
•     Kathleen Little, RN - Past Patient Coordinator-Educator, National Embryo Donation Center

The accrediting organizations and contact hours available for the lecture:

•     American Board of Bioanalysis – This program has been approved for 0.25 CEUs or 2.5 contact hours of continuing education activity.
•     Tennessee Nurses Association – This program has been approved for 2.5 contact hours by the Tennessee Nurses Association, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.
•     National Association of Social Workers – This program has been approved by the National Association of Social Workers (Approval #886592374-1183) for 2.5 Social Work continuing education contact hours.
•     University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine – The University of Tennessee College of Medicine designates this live activity for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

About Embryo Donation
Through the success of fertility treatments and assisted reproduction technology over the past 34 years, there are an estimated 600,000 frozen human embryos in the United States. While most are retained for future children by the genetic parents, approximately 2-3% are in limbo with uncertain futures. Embryo disposition options available are – keep them frozen, thaw and dispose, donate to research or donate them to other infertile couples hoping to have a baby.