National Physicians Cooperative

The National Physicians Cooperative (NPC) is a nationwide network of fertility preservation centers. Patients with cancer and other serious diseases whose progression or treatment is likely to impair fertility can receive access to the most up to date treatments and clinical research at NPC member sites. This page includes:

  • NPC purpose and membership information
  • How to become an NPC site (NPC Initiation Phase) and implement the ovarian tissue cryopreservation protocol (NPC Implementation Phase)
  • IRB templates for the ovarian tissue cryopreservation protocol
  • Billing resources: information and appeal letters
  • NPC-specific forms for patient enrollment to the ovarian tissue cryopreservation protocol. These can be found in "Section 9. Administrative Forms".

Purpose

The NPC provides a framework for:

  • Nationwide referral of patients for fertility preservation procedures in their area
  • Multicenter clinical research studies in reproductive medicine
  • Dissemination of best practices and clinical breakthroughs
  • A national ovarian tissue repository to foster research to improve fertility preservation options for women and girls

The NPC is led by Mary Ellen Pavone, MD, MSCI, and Jacqueline Jeruss, MD, PhD, at Northwestern University.

National Physicians Cooperative Membership

The NPC seeks member institutions that can cultivate strong working relationships between their oncology (and other specialties who treat patients who may need fertility preservation interventions) and reproductive endocrinology provider communities and that are committed to participation in NPC clinical research studies. 

National Physicians Cooperative Membership Requirements

  • Provide experimental procedures (such as ovarian tissue cryopreservation) under IRB-approved protocols only
  • Participate in at least one study protocol that provides ovarian tissue to national ovarian tissue research repository
  • Follow NPC protocols and procedures
  • Share data with the NPC and abide by its guidelines for publication and commercialization

National Physicians Cooperative Membership Benefits

  • Access to a national referral network for patients seeking fertility preservation
  • Information on how to establish a multidisciplinary Fertility Preservation program
  • Training in the best practices, including technology updates and practice management
  • Templates and assistance for obtaining IRB approval for participation in multicenter NPC studies
  • Access to materials and tools as needed to support clinical studies
  • Compensation for the time and materials required to freeze tissues for the research pool
  • Invitations to Virtual Grand Rounds, annual meetings, special events
  • Information about the financial aspects of fertility preservation
  • Use of a Fertility Preservation Brochure tailored to your program