The National Physicians Cooperative (NPC)

National Physicians Cooperative: Responsibilities, Benefits, and Membership

The National Physicians Cooperative (NPC) provides access to human ovarian tissue and a collaborative forum for the exchange of ideas, clinical research methods, and technologies in order to drive breakthroughs in basic reproductive physiology that will be translated directly to clinical medicine. The NPC is currently comprised of 4 core institutions and over 15 Allied health care centers across the country.

The NPC is led by Jeffrey Chang, M.D., Director of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology at the University of California, San Diego and Marybeth Gerrity, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Oncofertility Consortium.

National Physicians Cooperative Membership

The NPC seeks member institutions that can cultivate strong working relationships between their oncology and reproductive endocrinology provider communities and that are committed to participation in NPC clinical research studies. 

National Physicians Cooperative Membership Requirements

Each member organization will need to:

  • Commit to providing 20% of each collected ovary to the research pool
  • Participate in NPC studies under the approval of their own institutional IRB
  • Follow all NPC protocols and procedures precisely as described
  • Share data with the NPC and abide by its guidelines for publication and commercialization

National Physicians Cooperative Membership Benefits

  • Information on how to establish a multidisciplinary Oncofertility program
  • Access to nationwide Oncofertility providers network
  • Templates and assistance for obtaining IRB approval for participation in multicenter NPC studies
  • Training in the best practices, including technology updates
  • 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
  • Access to a national referral network for patients seeking fertility preservation
  • Information about the financial aspects of fertility preservation

This research was supported by the Oncofertility Consortium®, funded by the National Institutes of Health through the NIH Roadmap for Medical Research, Grant UL1DE19587 and PL1CA133835.