Virginia Center for Reproductive Medicine

About Virginia Center for Reproductive Medicine

Virginia Center for Reproductive Medicine (VCRM) is a private fertility practice at 11150 Sunset Hills Road in Reston, Virginia, roughly ten miles west of the Washington DC beltway. Dr. Fady I. Sharara (MD, FACOG), board-certified in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, founded the practice in February 2002 and still sees every patient personally, from initial consultation through egg retrieval and transfer.

VCRM was the first clinic in the DC metro area to offer elective egg freezing (2003), an early adopter of elective single embryo transfer (eSET, 2004), and one of the first US practices to build reciprocal IVF and dual embryo transfer protocols for same-sex female couples (2004). Acupuncture was added to the treatment menu in 2002, unusual for a US fertility clinic at the time.

On outcomes, VCRM completed 209 SART-reported ART cycles in 2023, well below the 400-cycle national per-clinic average that year (SART 2023 dataset). The clinic’s cumulative live birth rate for patients under 35 was 50.0% per intended retrieval against the 55.1% CDC national benchmark (CDC 2022 ART data). The age 35-37 group reported 26.9% against a 41.2% national rate. Small cycle volumes mean each age-cohort figure rests on a limited sample; verify the raw SART record (ClinicPKID 1964) before treating any single-year number as a stable trend.

Accreditations & Awards

• SART member clinic reporting cycles to SART and CDC (ClinicPKID 1964), so outcomes are independently verifiable
• CAP-accredited embryology laboratory and The Joint Commission facility accreditation
• REI Protect Seal of Approval for disclosure standards
• Medical director holds ABOG certification in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility and is a Fellow of ACOG (FACOG)
• Washingtonian “Top Doctors for Infertility” in the Washington DC region, every year since 2005
• Northern Virginia Magazine “Top Fertility Doctors” since 2010
• The Washington Magazine “Top Doctors” listing from 2011 onward
• Best of Reston award, consecutive years since 2008
• Men Having Babies rated VCRM among the top US practices for gay-dad family building via surrogacy
• Castle Connolly “Top Doctor” citations for Dr. Sharara

Why Choose VCRM

• One physician across the whole cycle: Dr. Sharara personally performs consultations, ultrasound monitoring, retrievals, and transfers. There is no rotating physician model and no delegation of the retrieval to a covering doctor
• Genuinely one-stop: VCRM is the only clinic between Tysons Corner and the West Virginia border with both an on-site IVF laboratory and an ASC-certified operating suite. Egg retrieval happens in-house rather than at a partner hospital
• Refund guarantee program: qualifying patients who do not take home a baby after up to four IVF or donor-egg cycles receive a 100% refund of program fees
• Financing that acknowledges real cycle cost: egg freezing offers 50% down with 12 months 0% interest, and the practice partners with CapexMD for third-party fertility loans across all treatments
• Pioneer of the specific things you might actually want: first DC-metro egg-freezing program (2003), early eSET adoption (2004), and dual embryo transfer for reciprocal IVF between same-sex partners (2004)
• Bilingual consults: Dr. Sharara is fluent in French; patients who prefer a French-language consultation can request one at intake

IVF & Fertility Services

• In Vitro Fertilization (IVF): full cycle including stimulation, monitoring, in-house retrieval, fertilization, and transfer. Since 2013, more than 75% of embryos cultured here reach the blastocyst stage before transfer
• ICSI: micromanipulation of a single sperm into each mature egg, standard for male-factor cases and prior fertilization failure
• PGT-A: preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (chromosome number), typically paired with blastocyst culture and vitrified embryo storage for staged transfer
• PGD / PGT-M: single-gene disorder testing for couples carrying known hereditary conditions
• Egg freezing and fertility preservation: vitrification-based; the practice runs both elective and medical-preservation protocols and coordinates oncology referrals
• Donor eggs: screened donors aged 21 to 31 with full medical and family history files
• Donor insemination (IUI with donor sperm): from national sperm banks, a common path for single patients and same-sex couples
• Gestational carrier (surrogacy) program: matching coordination, contract referral, and medical cycle management for intended parents using VCRM’s in-house ART lab
• LGBTQ+ family building: reciprocal IVF (one partner provides the egg, the other carries) and dual embryo transfer to allow both partners a genetic link where clinically reasonable
• IUI: washed, prepared semen placed directly into the uterus; first-line for cervical factor, mild male factor, and unexplained infertility
• Assisted hatching: laser thinning of the zona pellucida for prior implantation failure or thick-shelled embryos
• DuoStim: two stimulations within a single menstrual cycle (follicular plus luteal) for patients with diminished ovarian reserve who need to bank more eggs or embryos before transfer

Fees & Packages

VCRM publishes indicative ranges rather than a fixed price list. Figures below are US dollars and match the practice’s public disclosure:

The refund guarantee program is the main financial differentiator: qualifying patients who do not deliver a live infant after up to four IVF or donor-egg cycles receive a full refund of the program fee. Egg freezing offers 50% upfront with 12 months of 0% interest financing, and CapexMD provides third-party fertility loans across the rest of the menu. Ask the practice’s financial counselor for the current multi-cycle package terms before starting, since eligibility conditions (age, AMI, diagnosis) affect which packages you can enroll in.

Patient Journey

1. Book the initial consultation: both partners should attend if applicable. Intake can be scheduled by phone through the clinic’s main line
2. Sit down with Dr. Sharara directly: full review of medical and reproductive history, discussion of likely diagnoses, and an initial treatment direction. The practice runs on appointment and waits are typically short
3. Baseline fertility workup: transvaginal ultrasound, hormone panel (estradiol, FSH, AMH, TSH, prolactin, vitamin D), hysterosalpingogram or saline sonogram for the uterine cavity, and semen analysis for the male partner
4. Customized plan and cost review: stimulation and IUI through IVF, ICSI, and donor or gestational options, with a written cost breakdown and a walkthrough of the refund-program eligibility rules
5. Cycle execution: ovarian stimulation with blood and ultrasound monitoring; retrieval in the on-site ASC suite; conventional insemination or ICSI in the same facility’s lab; blastocyst culture where appropriate; and embryo transfer without anesthesia
6. Pregnancy test and handoff: serum beta-hCG roughly twelve days after transfer. If positive, VCRM co-manages with an OB of your choice through the first trimester and, for gestational carrier cases, until the intended parents assume parental rights
7. International patients: welcome, no separate international-office surcharge. French-language consultations can be arranged with Dr. Sharara

Local Legal Framework

Virginia has some of the more developed ART statutes in the US, and VCRM operates entirely within them:

• Gestational surrogacy: enforceable under Virginia Code § 20-158 through § 20-163. The written agreement must be executed before embryo transfer, both the intended parents and the carrier must retain independent legal counsel, and the carrier must not be genetically related to the embryo for the arrangement to fall under the gestational statute. Pre-birth orders are available for married heterosexual intended parents with a genetic link; other configurations typically proceed via post-birth adoption
• Egg donation: legal and routinely performed. No Virginia statute caps compensation, but programs follow ASRM guidance on reasonable expenses, and informed consent covering anonymity, genetic screening, and disclosure is standard practice
• PGT-A and PGT-M: legal, without state-level restriction beyond standard informed consent and CLIA-certified laboratory handling
• LGBTQ+ access: same-sex couples have equal access to ART in Virginia. The state’s parentage statutes (Va. Code § 20-158 and § 20-160) recognize intended parents as legal parents from birth when the assisted conception arrangement follows the statutory form, and both female partners in reciprocal IVF can be documented on the birth order under Virginia’s recent parentage provisions

Because state law can shift between the time you read this and the time you start a cycle, ask VCRM’s coordinator for a current summary and refer to the clinic’s own gestational carrier agreement packet. Independent Virginia family-law counsel should review any contract before signing.

Location

• Address: 11150 Sunset Hills Road, Suite 100, Reston, VA 20190, United States
• Phone: (703) 437-7722