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About
Most US fertility clinics offer an interpreter for a Mandarin-speaking patient. San Diego Fertility Center offers a physician: the clinic’s Chinese Fertility Program names Dr. Sandy Chuan, who came to the United States from Taiwan at age 8 and consults, prescribes and reviews results in Mandarin. The clinic states that over half of its patients come from outside the United States and describes a dedicated program to coordinate travel for patients who do not speak English, which makes this a routine workflow rather than an accommodation.
The credential behind that role is standard-path and verified: board certification in Obstetrics and Gynecology and in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility. She studied Biology and Comparative Literature at UC Irvine with a Chinese minor, took her medical degree at UCLA in 2003, then completed obstetrics and gynecology residency at Loma Linda University Medical Center, where she won the Outstanding Senior Resident Physician and Berlex Best Teaching Resident awards. Her reproductive endocrinology training at UC San Diego ran longer than most — a two-year research fellowship on top of the three-year clinical fellowship — and she began practicing as a fertility specialist in 2007.
Those research years show in her stated clinical list: PCOS, diminished ovarian reserve, fertility preservation, mini stimulation, male factor infertility and PGT, plus egg donation and surrogacy. She has published on polycystic ovarian syndrome, the role of hCG in assisted reproduction and the sperm factor in IVF, and describes the point of the research training as being able to judge new ART data critically instead of adopting it because it is new. Castle Connolly has listed her as a Top Doctor from 2017 through 2026; America’s Top Doctor followed in 2017-2019, and the San Diego County Medical Society recognition in San Diego Magazine in 2018.
Clinical Expertise
- PCOS: ovulation disorders and stimulation in polycystic ovaries, a named publication topic of hers and a common reason for a first IVF consult
- Diminished ovarian reserve and mini stimulation: lighter medication strategies for patients who recruit few eggs — the same patient group the clinic’s Gentle IVF protocol targets
- PGT-A: embryo genetic screening, from biopsy decision through transfer planning; note that SDFC’s biopsies go to an outside PGT laboratory for analysis
- Complex IVF and third-party reproduction: donor egg cycles and gestational carrier paths, including international intended parents
- Male factor infertility: stimulation and fertilization decisions when the semen analysis is the problem, another of her published topics
- Egg freezing and fertility preservation: elective freezing and preservation before gonadotoxic treatment
Why Choose Dr. Sandy Chuan
Care in your own clinical language. A fertility cycle runs on micro-instructions: when to inject, when to come in, what a missed trigger shot costs. Dr. Chuan removes the translation layer for Mandarin-speaking patients — the clinic’s Chinese Fertility Program page names her as the physician Mandarin-speaking patients work with, and notes she is fluent in English and Mandarin.
Five years of fellowship, not three. The two-year research fellowship at UCSD ahead of her clinical REI training is unusual, and it is the reason her published work sits on questions she handles daily: PCOS, hCG trigger practice, sperm factor in IVF.
A ten-year run of third-party physician rankings. Castle Connolly has named her a Top Doctor in every year from 2017 to 2026, a nomination-based commercial ranking rather than an accreditation. What it measures is what other doctors and hospital administrators have heard about you, repeatedly, over a decade.
Teaching awards from two institutions. Loma Linda gave her its Outstanding Senior Resident Physician and Berlex Best Teaching Resident awards — a useful signal for a patient who wants every step of a cycle explained rather than just ordered.
Professional Affiliations
Board-certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology and in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility. UCLA medical degree (2003), Loma Linda University Medical Center residency, UC San Diego research and clinical REI fellowship, practicing as a fertility specialist since 2007. Member of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Honors include Castle Connolly Top Doctor (2017-2026), America’s Top Doctor (2017-2019) and San Diego County Medical Society recognition in San Diego Magazine (2018).
Suitable For
- Mandarin-speaking patients: consults, consent discussions and cycle follow-up in Mandarin, with the clinic’s international patient coordination behind her
- PCOS patients: her published and clinical focus, from diagnosis through stimulation design
- Patients wanting fewer medications: mini stimulation and the clinic’s Gentle IVF approach overlap with her stated interests
- Low ovarian reserve: individualized protocols for patients who produce few eggs, including freezing decisions
- Donor egg and carrier families: third-party reproduction is one of her declared areas of practice interest, for US and international patients alike