2024 UCSF Hydrops Center of Excellence

The Brianna Marie Foundation will continue the support of the Hydrops Center of Excellence run by the UCSF Fetal Treatment Center, a well-established center providing comprehensive care for complex birth defects. The Center is a multidisciplinary group of experts in perinatology, genetics and genomics, pediatric surgery, neonatology, bioethics, social work, and counseling services. Their medical experts will review the details of each case, interpret prenatal imaging, recommend diagnostic evaluations, and determine eligibility for clinical trials of novel in-utero therapies. Services will be offered as telehealth consultations for families living far from UCSF, or in-person consultations for those able to travel to San Francisco.

Since its inception, the funds provided by the Brianna Marie Foundation, “have helped so many families gain access to our center and to exome and genome sequencing, with many being able to find an answer for the hydrops,” Drs. Sparks and Norton (founders of the Hydrops Center of Excellence).

The Brianna Marie Foundation often refers to this center when a hydrops case comes to us (especially when they are not close to a fetal surgery center). With their ability to meet virtually, diagnose, and make recommendations, they continue to help patients and understand so much about the condition and the different ways they can treat a baby in utero.  Funding is provided in partnership with the Fetal Health Foundation.