The practice of embryology taking assisted reproduction to new successes

The maturation of embryos into healthy babies through assisted reproduction isn’t just a typical process but takes time and precision in the hands of embryologists to bring out the desired outcome of IVF.

As assisted reproduction is increasingly being opted as a means to help couples conceive, the role of an embryologist becomes pivotal. Providing intrinsic embryo and patient care in equal measure, embryologists around the world put dedicated efforts to foster healthy growth of embryos.

The practice of assisted reproduction has got staunch support from embryologists around the world, who have contributed towards this breakthrough technology. Some of them are as follows:   

• Dr. Alex C Varghese, Chief Embryologist MSc., is an expert in Clinical Embryology and has initiated many successful training programs in ART, helping design and setting up of many IVF units in India. He is a world-famous medical author and a proactive researcher in Canada.

• Dr. Dhannya Binoy MD, Fellowship in Clinical Embryology, is a reproductive health consultant who has delivered profound work in quality control aspects of the IVF Lab.

• Dr. Goral Gandhi, having done her Masters in Applied Biology, is India’s noted authority in the practice and study of Embryology. Goral Gandhi is responsible for the design and establishment of many successful assisted conception laboratories in India and one in Ghana. She has been helping patients through better treatment practices and awareness around assisted reproduction techniques. Goral Gandhi has offered her expertise in IVF, ICSI, Donor egg IVF, Surrogacy, Frozen embryo transfer, Egg freezing, Segmented IVF.

• Liesl Nel-Themaat, a Senior Embryologist at the IVF Lab Director of the University of Colorado Advanced Reproductive Medicine, has been an active committee member of research biology and ART. She is an IVF Lab Team Leader and Endocrine/Andrology Lab Director and has researched in reproductive lab sciences.

• Dr. Samantha Pfeifer is the Chairwoman of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine’s Associate Professor of Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology and Clinical Reproductive Medicine. She is also a board-certified obstetrician/gynecologist and reproductive endocrinologist. Her specialties include in vitro fertilization, ovulation induction and fertility preservation.

The work of an embryologist is mostly behind closed laboratories, where they foster healthy growth of embryos. As a study and practice, embryology has been concerned with the development of embryos and the process of assisted hatching in the same dish where the embryo is destined to continue its development. It is not a typical 9-5 job, rather requires relentless hours to cater to the critical timing needs of the entire process.

As the clinical laboratory provides the closest possible imitation to the natural process of reproduction, it is the work of the embryologists that determines the outcome of the process. “Embryologists are not just doctors merely following a protocol. It takes a certain dedication and passion for the work that we do, whether it is the QC measures that we so vehemently follow or making the best use of patient material to produce successful chance at pregnancy,” explains Dr Goral Gandhi.

Clinical embryologists are responsible for retrieving eggs, assisting with In Vitro Fertilization, maintaining clinical records and running tests on eggs. They often work in hospitals and fertility clinics, but may also perform laboratory work or seek posts in academia.

With such dedicated scientists, each individual’s contribution brings new breakthroughs in approaching infertility. The achievement in fertility care hinges on the collaboration between doctors, patients and the embryologists, who help in realizing the full potential of assisted reproduction and medical technology.