Dr Pascual Marco, haematologist at Instituto Bernabeu, highlights multidisciplinary work as a key to improving clinical results

Dr Pascual Marco has been a doctor by vocation since childhood. In fact, his relatives remind him that he used to say that he was going to be “a doctor or nothing”. His motivation is patients, “the main wealth of medicine and helping them to recover their health”, he emphasises. He became a haematologist because “I discovered it was a dual speciality, as in addition to seeing patients you also work in the laboratory”, the haematologist studies the patient’s blood and applies the treatment.

Haematology has an important implication in reproductive medicine. This is why Instituto Bernabeu has this expert of recognised prestige among its medical staff. Dr Marco, former president of the Spanish Society of Thrombosis and Haemostasis and former head of the haematology unit of the General University Hospital of Alicante and current professor emeritus of the Miguel Hernández University, indicates that currently between 20 and 25% of infertility problems are related to coagulation problems, although there are still mysteries to be discovered, explains the specialist.

One of the proven evidences which represent a step forward in the solution of infertility problems is that of patients with antiphospholipid antibody syndrome. In these patients “antithrombotic treatment based on aspirin and low molecular weight heparin is clearly beneficial”, says the doctor. With success rates of around 80%, according to Marco.

“Another aspect is thrombophilia, the deficit of proteins which protect us from thrombosis”. We don’t yet have enough evidence in the scientific literature but it is clear that patients will benefit from antithrombotic treatment, especially to prevent thrombosis in pregnant women, as pregnancy is considered a thrombotic risk situation.

The specialist adds that for the moment there’re preliminary studies indicating that in recurrent implantation failure “prior treatment with low molecular weight heparin can help implantation”. Some genetic mutations could also be related to infertility problems. But “we still lack sufficient scientific evidence to generalise a treatment”, Dr Marco explains.

More recently, another application of haematology in obstetrics has been the appearance of studies linking the benefit of platelet-rich plasma in the significant improvement of ovarian reserve; or also in the preparing the endometrium to receive the embryo.

The fact that Instituto Bernabeu is made up of a multidisciplinary and highly specialised team that pool their knowledge for the benefit of improving treatments and teamwork are the aspects that Dr Marco highlights about his work at the clinic. “At Instituto Bernabeu they have created a multidisciplinary team and show that they are committed to quality and science,” he concludes.