The University of Michigan Center for Reproductive Medicine is an academic fertility program embedded within the University of Michigan Health system — one of the nation's premier academic medical centers — located at 1500 East Medical Center Drive in Ann Arbor, Michigan. As an academic program within U-M Health, the Center for Reproductive Medicine operates alongside world-class clinical departments in obstetrics and gynecology, urology, oncology, genetics, and maternal-fetal medicine, providing patients access to the multidisciplinary expertise that defines leading academic medical centers. The program serves patients from across Michigan, including Detroit, Lansing, Flint, Grand Rapids, and communities in northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula who travel to Ann Arbor for specialized reproductive medicine care. Michigan does not have a state fertility insurance mandate. For additional Michigan fertility clinic options, visit the Michigan state directory.
Physicians and Clinical Team
The clinical faculty at the U-M Center for Reproductive Medicine includes fellowship-trained reproductive endocrinologists who hold academic appointments in the University of Michigan Medical School's Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Academic REI programs train the next generation of fertility specialists through accredited fellowships — meaning that fellowship-level physicians (under faculty supervision) are integrated into the clinical team alongside attending physicians. This educational structure is a defining feature of academic medical center care and ensures that the practice remains at the forefront of evidence-based reproductive medicine.
Faculty physicians at U-M publish research in peer-reviewed journals, contribute to national professional societies (including ASRM — the American Society for Reproductive Medicine), and participate in multicenter clinical trials that advance the field. For patients with unusual, complex, or previously unresolved fertility diagnoses, the academic center environment provides access to peer consultation across departments — including genetics, urology (for male infertility surgical evaluation), oncology (for oncofertility), and maternal-fetal medicine (for patients with medical comorbidities).
Services and Treatments
The University of Michigan Center for Reproductive Medicine offers a comprehensive range of services:
- New patient fertility consultations and comprehensive diagnostic workup
- Ovarian reserve assessment (AMH, AFC)
- Ovulation induction and timed intercourse
- Intrauterine insemination (IUI) with partner or donor sperm
- In vitro fertilization (IVF) with individualized stimulation protocols
- Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI)
- Frozen embryo transfer (FET)
- Preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (PGT-A) and hereditary disease (PGT-M)
- Egg freezing for elective fertility preservation
- Oncofertility — fertility preservation before cancer treatment
- Embryo cryopreservation and banking
- Donor egg cycles
- Donor sperm coordination
- Gestational carrier medical management
- Recurrent pregnancy loss evaluation
- Endometriosis surgical evaluation in coordination with minimally invasive gynecology
- Male infertility evaluation in coordination with U-M Urology
- Research protocol participation (where eligible)
Laboratory and Success Rates
The IVF laboratory at U-M's Center for Reproductive Medicine operates under the rigorous oversight standards appropriate for an academic medical center program, with quality control processes that support both clinical care and research. Academic laboratory teams often include embryologists with advanced training who participate in protocol development and research alongside their clinical work. Patients should review the most current cycle-level data published by the CDC's ART Surveillance program and the SART Clinic Summary Report.
Academic center success rates should be interpreted carefully. Academic programs often treat more complex patients referred from community practices, which can affect aggregate outcome statistics relative to programs that see a less complex case mix. The academic advantage — access to research, peer consultation, and advanced testing — is not always captured in simple live birth rate comparisons.
Patient Experience
The East Medical Center Drive address sits at the heart of the University of Michigan Health campus — a sprawling academic medical complex in central Ann Arbor. Patients familiar with U-M Health's main hospital campus will recognize the Medical Center Drive address as part of the core inpatient and specialty outpatient zone. Parking is available in U-M Health's managed parking structures; the clinic team can advise on the most convenient options. Ann Arbor is approximately 45 minutes west of Detroit, making the program accessible to metro Detroit patients seeking academic-level fertility care.
For patients traveling from Lansing, Flint, Saginaw, or northern Michigan, Ann Arbor is a regional medical hub that offers the full range of reproductive medicine services within a system that can manage concurrent medical issues. U-M Health's electronic health record integration means that a patient's records across departments are available to the fertility team, which is a meaningful advantage for patients with complex medical histories.
Considering At-Home Insemination?
Not every fertility journey begins in a clinic. At-home intracervical insemination (ICI) is a lower-cost, private option that suits patients with no known fertility diagnosis — including single parents by choice, same-sex couples, and people who want to try a few cycles before committing to clinical treatment.
At-home insemination kits like those from MakeAMom come with step-by-step instructions designed for donor or partner sperm. Kits are a one-time purchase that can be reused until conception succeeds, require no clinic visit, and arrive in plain, discreet packaging. Many patients use them as a first step while working toward a fertility consultation — or alongside ovulation tracking while they wait for an appointment slot.
If you have a known fertility diagnosis, have been trying for 12 months without success (six months if you're over 35), or your physician has already recommended IUI or IVF, a board-certified reproductive endocrinologist is the right next step.
Insurance and Financing
Michigan does not have a state fertility insurance mandate. Michigan residents with employer-sponsored health insurance are generally not entitled to IVF coverage as a matter of state law. University of Michigan employees and faculty may have access to specific employee fertility benefits through U-M's own benefits programs — current or prospective employees should consult the University's HR portal for details. For the broader patient population without employer fertility coverage, out-of-pocket fertility treatment costs at U-M Health are subject to the academic medical center's pricing structure; patients should request a financial counseling appointment to understand expected costs.
Some academic medical centers offer income-based financial assistance or participate in patient assistance programs for fertility medications. Michigan's large automotive, healthcare, and technology employer base includes some companies with voluntary fertility benefits. Patients are encouraged to contact their HR department and insurance carrier before scheduling a consultation to understand what diagnostic testing and treatment is covered.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the advantages of choosing an academic medical center for fertility care? Academic programs like U-M's Center for Reproductive Medicine offer access to cutting-edge research protocols, the full breadth of subspecialty consultation (genetics, urology, oncology, maternal-fetal medicine), and a physician team engaged with the national evidence base for reproductive medicine. For patients with unusual diagnoses, prior treatment failures, or complex medical histories, the academic environment can provide resources that community practices do not have.
Does U-M see patients for second opinions after failed IVF at other clinics? Yes. Second opinion consultations are an important part of how academic programs contribute to the fertility care ecosystem. Patients who have experienced recurrent implantation failure, multiple miscarriages, or unexpected poor laboratory results are encouraged to bring all prior cycle records — stimulation charts, embryo development reports, and genetic testing results — to a second opinion consultation at U-M.
How does the oncofertility program work at U-M? U-M's co-location of cancer care (the Rogel Cancer Center) and reproductive medicine makes oncofertility coordination particularly strong. Newly diagnosed cancer patients referred for fertility preservation before starting chemotherapy or radiation can receive an urgent consultation at the Center for Reproductive Medicine, with the goal of completing an egg or embryo freezing cycle before treatment begins. Referrals for oncofertility consultations can be made by the treating oncologist or by the patient directly.
Can patients from outside Michigan access U-M Center for Reproductive Medicine? U-M Health sees patients from across the country, including those who travel specifically to access the academic fertility program. Telemedicine options for initial consultations may reduce the need for initial travel, and the team can advise on what components of evaluation and treatment require in-person visits in Ann Arbor.