Introducing HEADSTART: A Faster Path to IVF at Marin Fertility Center

Your IVF journey can begin before your first appointment.

When you’re ready to begin IVF, time matters.

For many patients, the decision to pursue IVF comes after months—or even years—of trying to conceive, researching treatment options, and deciding on the right next step.

By the time they’re ready, they don’t want to wait another month just to get started.

At Marin Fertility Center, we believe that fertility treatment should move forward as efficiently as possible, without compromising the quality or thoroughness of care.

That’s why we’ve introduced HEADSTART, a program designed to help new patients begin preparing for IVF before their first physician appointment.

By completing essential bloodwork and genetic carrier screening earlier in the process, patients may save approximately two to three weeks in their preparation for IVF.

Same Essential Testing. A Faster Path to IVF.

Traditionally, patients schedule an initial consultation, meet with their fertility specialist, and then receive orders for the bloodwork and genetic carrier screening needed to prepare for treatment.

Only after completing testing and receiving results can they move forward with the next steps.

But what if that testing could begin while you’re waiting for your first appointment?

That’s the idea behind HEADSTART.

The difference is simple: HEADSTART allows important preliminary testing to take place during the time patients would otherwise spend waiting for their first consultation.

Instead of completing these steps sequentially, we can begin working on them simultaneously.

Same essential testing. Less unnecessary waiting.

How HEADSTART Works

Step 1: Book Appointment and Complete Onboarding as a New Patient

Upon booking a new patient appointment, you will receive information on how to start onboarding (patients booking through our instant online appointment system will be contacted by the next business day with onboarding instructions) During onboarding we will give you an opportunity to participate in the HEADSTART program by requesting essential prerequisite testing.

Step 2: Complete Your Testing

Our team will review your HEADSTART request, place the appropriate testing order(s), and contact you with instructions on how to complete.

Step 3: Meet With Your Fertility Specialist

When you arrive for your first consultation, important test results will already be available for your physician to review.

This allows your visit to focus on understanding your fertility history, reviewing your results, discussing your options, and developing a personalized treatment plan.

Step 4: Move Forward With Your Treatment Plan

With preliminary testing already completed, you are be able to proceed toward IVF without the additional waiting period that commonly follows an initial consultation.

How Long Does It Actually Take to Start IVF?

One of the most common misconceptions about IVF is that the process necessarily takes several months before treatment can begin.

In reality, the ovarian stimulation phase of IVF typically lasts approximately 8–12 days, followed by egg retrieval.

Much of the time leading up to treatment involves consultations, preliminary testing, reviewing results, and coordinating the treatment plan.

Every patient’s circumstances are different, and some require additional evaluation or treatment before proceeding.

However, for patients who are ready to move forward, the preparation process doesn’t always need to be lengthy.

HEADSTART helps us make better use of that time.

Why Marin Fertility Center?

Marin Fertility Center is an independent, full-service IVF center with its own embryology laboratory.

Our physicians, clinical team, and laboratory work closely together to provide coordinated, individualized fertility care.

That integration allows us to focus not only on the medical aspects of IVF, but also on how patients experience the process, from their first contact with our center through treatment.

HEADSTART is one example of that philosophy in action.

We’re not eliminating important medical steps or rushing decisions.

We’re simply changing when those steps happen.

Because when you’re ready to move forward, unnecessary waiting shouldn’t stand in your way.

Ready to Get a HEADSTART?

You don’t have to wait for your first physician appointment to begin preparing for IVF.

Book a new patient appointment at Marin Fertility Center and ask about HEADSTART.

HEADSTART. Less waiting. More moving forward.

Marin Fertility Center — A better journey.

Individual testing requirements, genetic screening results, physician recommendations, and treatment timelines vary. Additional evaluation or treatment may be necessary before beginning IVF. The potential time savings described are estimates and are not guaranteed.