Fertility issues have become more prevalent in recent years. This is attributable to a variety of causes, including a delay in the age at which the first child is born, as well as a decrease in sperm quality in recent years, particularly in industrialised regions. Furthermore, we must consider the emergence of new family structures, which broaden the profile of women who choose parenthood, either as a pair or on their own. Simultaneously, assisted reproduction techniques have rapidly advanced, and many families have been able to realise their ambition of becoming parents as a result of fertility therapy.
Spain is the European country with the most assisted reproduction treatments, owing to the legal framework and a long record of excellence and innovation in health care. Institut Marquès is a centre of international renown for gynaecology and assisted reproduction with a century of experience. It has established itself as an international reference in its field, with offices in Barcelona (Spain), Rome and Milano (Italy), and London (UK).The success rates of each centre are dependent on the resources available to it as well as the experience of its doctors and biologists. As a result, Institut Marquès has the highest success rates for In vitro Fertilisation (IVF) with Egg Donation: 91% each cycle and 72% for IVF with own eggs.
Led and managed by Dr. Marisa López-Teijón, Institut Marquès treats patients from over 50 countries. Many of these patients have previously undergone fertility treatment, without success.
Dr Marisa López-Teijón, CEO of the company, appears among the top 10% of the most influential researchers in the world, according to the platform Research Gate. Her book “I want to get pregnant now!” has become an essential fertility guide. She is also the author of “fertility-experiences.com”, with more than 850,000 readers. She was awarded at Harvard University (USA) for her studies on fetal hearing and was recently awarded as “Best Physician of the Year in Assisted Reproduction” in Spain.
Institut Marquès owes its name to the family whose members have represented the centre’s unity and continuity throughout time. 100 years ago, Dr Vicens Marquès i Bertran (Barcelona, 1895-1977) began practising as a gynaecologist back in 1922.
Around the end of the 80’s, both the elder son, Dr Leonardo Marquès Amorós, and Dr Marisa López-Teijón, initiated their activity at Institut Marquès. They introduced very advanced techniques for the time such as surgical and diagnostic hysteroscopy, and improved the already existing assisted reproduction techniques. In 1989, they inaugurated their first In Vitro Fertilization Laboratory. Throughout the following years, the laboratory kept on expanding and incorporated the newest techniques.
The fourth generation of gynaecologists of the Marquès family, Dr. Borja Marquès, is now also part of the clinic’s team.
Institut Marquès
The centre has a broad portfolio of Assisted Reproduction services with its own Premium Sperm Bank and a broad programme of gamete and Embryo Donation. Institut Marquès
offers several alternatives for those patients that need donor artificial insemination or In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF). They have several specialised treatment units: Genetic Advice and Hereditary Diseases Unit, Recurrent Miscarriage Unit, Oncology and Reproductive Medicine Unit and Andrology Unit (male fertility). Next to the basic treatment, they recommend some special add-on techniques, proposing only those that have been shown to be effective, such as the Preimplantation Genetic Test (PGT), male factor techniques (Fertile, IMSI…) or the Embryoscope incubator (Time-lapse technology).
Institut Marquès offers a wide range of first-class fertility services and personalised care. A specialised assistance team, fluent in different languages, guides the patients step by step during the treatment.
The Secret Behind Success
According to Dr Marisa López-Teijón, progress in technology is changing how things work and innovation in healthcare should be oriented towards facilitating processes for patients. She states that the goal of the company is to keep on innovating and investing in research and development. To achieve that, the team at Institut Marquès follows its main principles, which are honesty and transparency, quality and safety. Dedicating a large part of its resources to new processes and R + D + I in order to continuously improve, the company has Assisted Reproduction treatments and services. She says, “This is part of our identity.”
Determination and Passion are the Keys
“It is very important to learn how to communicate and motivate your team because it is essential to be a team worker,” says Dr Marisa López-Teijón.
As per her, today, nobody does anything important on their own. At Institut Marquès, the teams are aware of the importance of each and every one of its colleagues. The best Formula One pilots are in the best teams, as are the best football and basketball players in the Premier League.The same happens with doctors. Therefore, fertility clinics should make their biggest investment in their staff.
According to Dr. Marisa López-Teijón, in order to be successful, one must be determined and passionate. On the other hand, one of the main qualities for succeeding and to be innovative at work is creativity. Creativity is not a subject that can be taught at school or in an occupation for a few hours a day. It is a way of being and thinking. All the same, it requires a lot of discipline. It is about maintaining the child’s curiosity, asking why things happen all the time, not taking anything for granted, and disagreeing with statements such as “it has always been like this” and “it is impossible,” as well as all established norms.
Helping Patients is the True Motivation
According to Dr. Marisa López-Teijón, the motivation at Institut Marquès is patients, their stories, the colleagues at Institut Marquès, nurturing teamwork, and everyone who is a part of it. She opines,
“Our medical specialty is science, magic and art. It is continuous innovation to improve fertility treatments and, even with the advances in medicine, every embryo and every baby brings us the magic of the beginning of life.”
Becoming an Emblem of Innovation in the Fertility Industry
Institut Marquès is constantly carrying out innovative scientific studies to improve assisted reproduction treatments. Music, mobile technology, telemedicine and the use of virtual reality are some of the innovations that Institut Marquès is already using in its clinics.
The team has developed a world pioneer innovation project with the aim to improve IVF by implementing music in all the company’s embryo incubators in assisted reproduction laboratories. The company’s scientific studies have demonstrated that music micro vibrations produce movements similar to those that fertilised eggs experience in their journey through the fallopian tubes and the uterus; they stir the culture medium, achieving a more homogeneous distribution of nutrients and scattering the waste metabolites. The use of music represents a significant advance in order to reproduce in the laboratories the natural conditions that embryos would have if they were in the maternal uterus. It is also a key factor in the increase in our success rates.
On the other hand, mobile phones have turned into another technological ally in order to improve the results of fertility treatments. The Embryomobile app, developed by Institut Marquès, allows parents to follow their embryos in real time while they are in the incubator from any location. It is a commitment to transparency that, furthermore, reduces the stress of the mother before the embryo transfer considerably, favouring the implantation in order to achieve pregnancy. Institut Marquès is the only centre where patients can really see how their embryos are.
Telemedicine is the medicine of the future. In this area, Institut Marquès is using videoconferences to communicate with patients all over the world. In addition, the centre has developed and patented the Sperm Freezekit. This new technique allows patients to cryopreserve their sperm anywhere in the world and send it to the clinic, without having to travel. This is a practical and convenient solution for males who are away from home and who have difficulties travelling to the clinic to undergo fertility treatment with their partner or, simply, for privacy reasons.
And, because Institut Marquès is always thinking about the male, the sample collection rooms have an evocative design and include erotic devices to improve sexual arousal, such as virtual reality glasses.This is the Erotic Personal System, a special protocol for obtaining the best sperm because Institut Marquès’ studies have established a link between semen quality and the erotic visual stimulation through virtual reality.
In the future, Institut Marquès will continue to innovate and adapt to its latest findings to ensure it remains successful in all of its endeavours.
Be Best at what You Do
Dr. Marisa López-Teijón advises new entrepreneurs to pursue excellence in what they do: Excellence is not perfection; excellence is not predicting the future: it is inventing it by carrying out innovative and courageous projects. She also believes that excellence is a state of mind that involves determination, ingenuity and fun. Excellence is to exceed expectations: to promise a star and give away the sun.
Headquarter In: Headquarter in Barcelona, Spain. With a Clinic in Rome (Italy) and offices in Milano
(Italy) and London (UK)
Founded in Year: 1922
Employees Headcount: 150
Your Tagline/Quote: Creating families around the world
