New physician leadership, laboratory improvements, and recruitment efforts mark important steps toward resuming comprehensive fertility care
Loma Linda University Center for Fertility & IVF is preparing to resume clinical services following a temporary pause in fertility treatments that began in July 2025. During this transition, the Center has undertaken significant improvements to its laboratory facilities, procedures, and operations while recruiting new physician leadership to guide its next chapter.
An important milestone has now been reached with the successful recruitment and credentialing of a reproductive endocrinology and infertility (REI) physician who will serve as the Center’s medical director during its reopening. The physician will provide clinical leadership and oversight while the university continues its search for a permanent, full-time REI specialist.
The final major step toward reopening is the recruitment and training of a full-time advanced practice provider (APP) who will provide consistent, on-site patient care in coordination with the physician director. Once this position is filled and the necessary training is completed, the Center expects to begin welcoming patients back for fertility treatment.
“We recognize that this transition has taken longer than anticipated, but our priority has been to put the right people, systems, and processes in place,” said Dr. Kevin Balli, Chair of the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics at Loma Linda University Health. “We want patients to feel confident in the care they will receive when we reopen.”
Preparing for the Future
Throughout the pause in clinical treatments, the Center has continued to maintain and safeguard its patients’ cryopreserved embryos, eggs, and sperm. Lead embryologist Natalie King, working with laboratory assistant Adriana Martinez, has overseen these ongoing responsibilities while helping implement important updates to laboratory equipment, procedures, and quality assurance processes.
The Center has also used this period to review and strengthen its clinical and laboratory operations in preparation for the return of comprehensive fertility services.
“The Center’s long history of helping patients build families has guided our careful approach to reopening,” Dr. Balli said. “Our focus has been on protecting the trust patients have placed in us, strengthening our laboratory and clinical operations, and establishing a solid foundation for high-quality fertility care for years to come.”
Services Available After Reopening
The Center plans to resume a comprehensive range of fertility services at its Loma Linda location, including:
- Diagnostic testing, laboratory studies, and imaging.
- Andrology services, including semen analysis.
- Hormone testing and treatment.
- Fertility evaluations, workups, and individualized care planning.
- Fertility treatments, including intrauterine insemination (IUI).
- In vitro fertilization (IVF), including ovarian stimulation, egg retrieval, embryology laboratory services, and embryo transfer, with associated monitoring and follow-up care provided through the Center.
The goal is to provide patients with coordinated, comprehensive fertility treatment at Loma Linda University Health.
Requesting Appointments
Although a specific reopening date has not yet been announced, patients interested in pursuing fertility care at the Center may request placement on an appointment waitlist by using the secure Request an Appointment form on the Center’s website.
The Center will provide additional updates as the remaining staffing and preparations are completed.
“Many families have begun at Loma Linda over the years,” Dr. Balli said. “Our commitment is to ensure many more to come for decades.”