This year marks five years of helping build and grow families in the Bay Area through our clinics in Silicon Valley, San Francisco, and Walnut Creek (Kindbody East Bay). We’re proud to take the next step with the opening of our new state-of-the-art IVF lab in Walnut Creek — designed to deliver the highest standards of care and outcomes for our patients. To mark the occasion, we sat down with Dr. Shawn Breen, Regional Laboratory Director and Clinical Laboratory Program Director, for a behind-the-scenes look at what this milestone means for patients, providers, and the community.
Why was it important to open a new IVF lab at Kindbody East Bay? How does having the lab integrated inside the clinic change the patient experience?
The demand for fertility care in the Bay Area continues to grow, and we want patients in the East Bay and beyond to have access to the highest quality care close to home. Having a lab on-site makes the entire process much smoother for patients. Everything happens under one roof, which means greater efficiency and peace of mind. Our physicians and embryologists are in constant communication, so patients benefit from real-time coordination between their care team and the lab. It also reduces unnecessary travel and stress for patients — they can come to one location for every step of their journey, knowing their care is closely connected from start to finish.
For those who might not know, what exactly happens inside an IVF lab?
The IVF, or embryology, lab is where the true magic of fertility care takes place. Think of it as the ‘NICU before the NICU’ — a carefully protected environment where eggs and embryos are nurtured during their earliest and most delicate stages. Inside the lab, every detail is controlled and closely monitored to minimize stress and optimize conditions for growth. The journey begins with egg collection, followed by preparation for insemination, fertilization with sperm, and the incubation period, or culture. From there, embryos are either prepared for transfer, tested, or cryopreserved for future use. At Kindbody, we’re proud to use the most advanced technologies available — including electronic witnessing systems and continuous environmental monitoring for air quality and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) — going beyond today’s requirements to ensure the safest, most supportive environment possible.
What can you tell us about safety in the lab?
Safety is absolutely central to everything we do in the lab. Every step — from how embryos are handled to how equipment is monitored — is guided by strict protocols as well as internal quality control measures in order to protect patients and consistently improve outcomes. Oversight in our Bay Area labs includes board certified high complexity lab directors (HCLDs), board certified Technical Supervisors (TS) lab supervisors and very skilled senior embryologists. Patients can feel confident knowing their embryos are cared for in one of the safest, most tightly controlled environments possible. At Kindbody we believe in the quality and standards of our system that we voluntarily chose to have all our sites College of American Pathologists (CAP) accredited and Society of American Reproductive Technology (SART) registered to allow full transparency of outcomes.
Is there anything else you want patients to know?
Providing high-quality fertility care has always been our North Star — the foundation on which Kindbody was built. We’re grateful to be part of the East Bay community, and with the addition of this new lab, we look forward to continuing to serve local patients with the highest standards of scientific rigor, clinical excellence, and compassionate care.
