IVF News

Why This Program Stands Out

This program integrates two closely connected areas of practice:

• advanced clinical andrology
• comprehensive men’s health

The curriculum is informed by applicable principles and major professional guidance relevant to:

• Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute practice
• College of American Pathologists quality standards
• American Urological Association guidance
• internationally recognized male infertility recommendations
• reproductive laboratory quality-management principles
• major international andrology and men’s health guidelines

Program Duration and Delivery

The program is delivered:

• fully online
• over 13 weeks
• through structured specialist modules

Eligibility

Applicants should ordinarily possess:

• a recognized university degree; and
• relevant work experience, academic preparation, or demonstrated interest in healthcare, biomedical science, laboratory medicine, reproductive health, fertility services, men’s health, or a related discipline.

Applications are welcomed from:

• physicians
• medical graduates
• medical laboratory scientists
• biomedical scientists
• clinical embryologists
• fertility-clinic personnel

Applications are assessed individually.

Award

Participants who successfully complete the required modules, assignments, assessments, and final competency requirements will receive the:

Dip.H.Sp™ in Clinical Andrology & Men’s Health

Diplomate of High Specialist Practice

The award confirms successful completion of advanced professional training. Registration Information / application procedure:

To apply for any of the programs,  application processing fee must received, we will email you 2 forms, to be filled out , scanned and emailed back to us with your current resume or cv, again e-mail [email protected]

For more information visit Clinical Embryology Dip.H.SpTM. Certification

email us at [email protected]

Why This Program Stands Apart

This is more than an introductory IVF course.

The program is designed to build specialist knowledge, professional judgment, scientific confidence, and a strong understanding of quality-controlled embryology practice.

The curriculum is informed by applicable principles and major professional guidance relevant to reproductive laboratory medicine, including:

• Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute principles
• College of American Pathologists quality standards
• major international IVF and reproductive medicine guidelines
• internationally recognized laboratory quality-management principles
• ethical and patient-safety standards applicable to assisted reproduction

Program Duration and Delivery

The program is delivered:

• fully online
• over 13 weeks
• through structured specialist modules
• with directed reading
• case-based learning
• practical demonstrations
• interpretive exercises

The online structure allows participants to continue working while completing advanced specialist training from any country.

Eligibility

Applicants should ordinarily possess:

• a recognized university degree; and
• relevant work experience, academic preparation, or demonstrated interest in healthcare, biomedical science, laboratory medicine, reproductive health, fertility services, or a related discipline.

Registration Information / application procedure:

To apply for any of the programs,  application processing fee must received, we will email you 2 forms, to be filled out , scanned and emailed back to us with your current resume or cv, again e-mail [email protected]

For more information visit Clinical Embryology Dip.H.SpTM. Certification

email us at [email protected]

Chennai Fertility Centre and Research Institute, offering an Post Graduate Diploma in Clinical Embryology and Preimplantation Genetics association with Bharathiar University.

Our mission is to provide

• Extensive hands-on training
• Unlock new opportunities with advanced learning
• State-of-the Art facilities
•  In-depth theoretical knowledge and practical skills
•  Specialized training for Career support 

Eligibility:

Under Graduation and Post-Graduation in any Life Sciences, Bio Medical Sciences, Medical Sciences and Veterinary Sciences from a recognized university

Join Us! Our program details and admission process

• Contact : 9003111598 / 8428278218
• Mail: [email protected]

IVF Store has released two new educational resources designed to help IVF laboratories strengthen their procedures, staff training and competency documentation.

The resources—an extensive IVF laboratory procedure manual and a clinical training and sign-off manual—are available free of charge and have been reviewed by IVF Store’s Scientific Advisory Board.

IVF Laboratory Procedure Manual

The new IVF Laboratory Procedure Manual provides laboratories with a detailed framework for documenting everyday embryology and andrology operations.

Its coverage includes:

Patient and specimen identification, labeling and witnessing

Laboratory preparation and recordkeeping

Semen assessment, preparation and cryopreservation

Oocyte retrieval and handling

Conventional insemination and ICSI

Embryo culture, grading, biopsy and transfer

Vitrification, warming and cryostorage

Quality control and equipment maintenance

Air quality and VOC monitoring

Staff training, competency and document control

The manual draws on recommendations from organizations including ASRM, ESHRE and Alpha Scientists in Reproductive Medicine. It is structured as an educational template that laboratories can adapt by adding their own validated parameters, equipment instructions, responsibilities, forms and approval processes.

Clinical IVF Training and Sign-Off Manual

The accompanying Clinical IVF Training and Sign-Off Manual is designed to support structured staff development and competency assessment.

It gives laboratory leaders and trainers a practical framework for recording observation, supervised practice, competency evaluation and authorization for independent work. Used alongside a laboratory’s procedures, the resource can help make training expectations clearer and create a more consistent, traceable sign-off process.

This may be particularly useful when onboarding new embryologists and andrologists, introducing new techniques or documenting continued competency within an established team.

A Starting Point for Local Adoption

Both resources are intended as adaptable educational templates rather than ready-made replacements for a laboratory’s controlled documents. Each laboratory remains responsible for reviewing and validating its procedures, incorporating site-specific requirements and complying with applicable regulations, accreditation standards, manufacturers’ instructions and institutional policies.

For laboratories developing new documentation—or reviewing and harmonizing existing systems—the manuals offer a valuable starting point and a practical reference for discussion among laboratory directors, quality managers, trainers and technical staff.

Explore the resources:

IVF Laboratory Procedure Manual

Clinical IVF Training and Sign-Off Manual

The global burden of infertility among women aged 35 to 49 is expected to increase substantially over the next decade. A new analysis published in The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology, & Women’s Health projects that approximately 79.6 million women in this age group could be living with infertility by 2036, compared with an estimated 53.6 million in 2023.

This represents an increase of approximately 48.6% in just 13 years. The associated burden measured in disability-adjusted life-years, or DALYs, is also projected to rise by nearly 50%.

The findings position infertility at advanced reproductive ages as an increasingly important global health issue. They also illustrate how reproductive biology, population ageing, later childbearing and unequal access to fertility care are interacting across very different social and economic settings.

The analysis used data from the Global Burden of Disease 2023 study, covering 204 countries and territories between 1990 and 2023. Researchers assessed the prevalence of infertility and associated DALYs among women aged 35 to 49. They examined trends at global, regional and national levels, evaluated health inequalities and used a Bayesian age-period-cohort model to project the burden through 2036.

In 2023, the estimated age-standardised prevalence rate was 6,907 cases per 100,000 women aged 35 to 49, although the uncertainty interval around that figure was wide. Across the period from 1990 to 2023, age-standardised prevalence increased by an average of approximately 0.45% per year. Infertility-related DALYs rose by around 0.47% annually.

The projected increase in the absolute number of affected women is therefore not simply a reflection of one factor. It combines changes in population size and age structure with a continuing rise in the estimated age-standardised burden. The largest numerical increase is expected among women aged 35 to 39.

Age remains central to the clinical picture. Ovarian reserve and oocyte competence decline as reproductive ageing progresses. This reduces natural fecundity, increases the probability of miscarriage and lowers the likelihood that an assisted reproductive technology cycle will result in a live birth. These biological processes are well established, but the population exposed to them is changing.

In many countries, first births are occurring later. Longer periods in education, delayed partnership formation, housing costs, employment insecurity, limited childcare and the difficulty of reconciling work with parenthood all influence reproductive timing. Greater awareness of infertility and increased use of diagnostic services may also contribute to the number of cases identified.

These factors should not be interpreted as evidence that later parenthood is simply an individual lifestyle decision. Reproductive timing is shaped by economic conditions, workplace policies, family support, access to health care and the wider social environment. Expanding IVF services can address part of the clinical need, but it cannot by itself resolve the structural conditions that lead many people to postpone attempts to conceive.

The geographical pattern is also changing. Asia currently has the greatest absolute need for fertility care, reflecting its large population, while Australasia has the lowest. At the same time, the study found that the burden has progressively shifted towards countries with a higher Socio-demographic Index, a composite measure incorporating income, education and fertility.

Higher-income settings tend to have older maternal ages and greater access to fertility investigation, diagnosis and treatment. This can increase both the underlying need for care and the visibility of infertility within health statistics. In lower-resource settings, infertility may remain underdiagnosed even when its personal and social consequences are severe.

The relative disparity in infertility-related DALYs between low-SDI and high-SDI regions narrowed by 23.1% between 1990 and 2023. This apparent improvement in global equity requires careful interpretation. A narrowing gap does not necessarily mean that outcomes have improved everywhere. It can also occur because the measured burden is rising more quickly in high-SDI countries.

Substantial inequalities remain within and between countries. Fertility investigations, ovarian stimulation, laboratory procedures, embryo culture, cryopreservation and repeated treatment cycles can place considerable financial pressure on patients. Where treatment is primarily self-funded, access depends heavily on income and geography. Even in publicly supported systems, age restrictions, eligibility criteria and long waiting periods can limit care.

The new estimates therefore have practical implications for fertility services. A rise from 53.6 million to almost 80 million affected women would create additional demand for diagnostic testing, counselling, ovarian stimulation, IVF, intracytoplasmic sperm injection, cryopreservation and donor treatment. Laboratories may need to plan for greater cycle volumes while maintaining rigorous standards for traceability, quality control, culture conditions and staff competency.

Demand is unlikely to be distributed evenly. Health systems will need local forecasting that accounts for population age structure, reproductive intentions, treatment-seeking behaviour and existing service capacity. Greater demand also makes efficient referral pathways increasingly important. Patients may lose valuable reproductive time when assessment is delayed or when care is fragmented between primary care, gynaecology and specialist fertility services.

Earlier access to accurate fertility information could help people make informed reproductive choices. This should include a realistic explanation of age-related changes in fertility and the limitations of assisted reproduction. IVF can improve the probability of conception for many patients, but it does not fully compensate for the effect of increasing oocyte age. Fertility preservation may extend reproductive options for some women, although it also carries costs, medical burdens and no guarantee of a future live birth.

Education must be delivered carefully. The purpose is not to pressure women into earlier parenthood or transfer responsibility for systemic problems onto individual patients. Fertility awareness is most useful when accompanied by policies that make family formation more achievable, including secure employment, affordable housing, parental leave, childcare and protection from workplace disadvantage.

The study also supports integrating infertility more fully into national health strategies and primary care. Earlier recognition of risk factors, appropriate investigation and timely referral could reduce avoidable delays. Mobile health services and remote consultations may extend access to information and specialist support, particularly in regions where fertility clinics are concentrated in major cities.

Clinical expansion should be accompanied by measures that protect affordability and quality. Increasing capacity without addressing cost could widen existing disparities. Similarly, expanding treatment without appropriate laboratory infrastructure, trained personnel and monitoring could compromise patient safety and outcomes.

The estimates should be understood as modelled population-level findings rather than a direct count of every woman experiencing infertility. The Global Burden of Disease framework combines information from multiple sources and uses statistical modelling where data are incomplete. The broad uncertainty interval around the prevalence estimate reflects variation and limitations in the available evidence.

Definitions and reporting practices may also differ across settings. Infertility is generally defined as failure to achieve pregnancy after 12 months of regular unprotected intercourse, but this clinical definition does not capture every reproductive circumstance. Women who are not currently attempting pregnancy, do not have a partner or cannot access diagnostic services may not be represented in the same way as patients actively seeking treatment.

The analysis focuses specifically on female infertility among women aged 35 to 49. It should not be read as suggesting that infertility is exclusively or predominantly the responsibility of women. Male factors, combined factors and unexplained infertility represent substantial components of the overall burden and require appropriate investigation.

Despite these limitations, the projected direction of change is clear. More women are reaching later reproductive ages in populations where childbearing is increasingly postponed, while fertility care remains expensive or unavailable for many of those who need it. The result is likely to be a significant increase in demand for both clinical treatment and wider reproductive health support.

For IVF providers, policymakers and laboratory professionals, the study offers a planning horizon rather than simply a warning. Capacity, affordability, workforce development and equitable access will need to advance together. The challenge is not only to perform more treatment cycles, but to build fertility services that are timely, evidence-based and accessible across different economic and geographical settings.

Nearly 80 million affected women by 2036 would make infertility among those aged 35 to 49 an even more prominent part of global reproductive health. Preparing for that future will require better fertility education, earlier assessment, realistic communication about treatment, stronger laboratory capacity and policies that recognise the social as well as biological dimensions of reproductive ageing.

Sources

6 July 2026. The Lancet

• Epidemiological trends, disparities, and developmental correlates of infertility in women of advanced maternal age, 1990–2023: a comprehensive analysis within the GBD framework

7 July 2026. MedicalXpress

• Rates of infertility are rising among women over 35

10 July 2026. Firstpost

• Global infertility among women over 35 could rise by 50 percent in a decade, warns Lancet

7 July 2026. Euronews

• Infertility to affect 80 million women by 2036 with sharpest rise in over-35s, study finds

Training Batch Schedule August - October 2026

• Batch - VIII : 03rd to 17th August 2026
• Batch - IX : 01st to 16th September 2026
• Batch - X : 05th to 19th October 2026

The International School of Embryology a unit of Chennai Fertility Centre and Research Institute was established to offer training in Advanced Reproductive Techniques and Embryology for clinicians and embryologists. It will help them to know in-depth knowledge and have good hands-on training. The members of our teaching faculty aim to bring Clinician and Embryologists to the highest level of knowledge about Assisted Reproductive Technology and practical capability.

Our courses cover basics in Andrology, Embryology, ICSI & Cryosciences (Hands-on).

Limited Seats. For admission Contact  9003111598 / 8428278218 

This webinar examined how emerging technologies and scientific advances are transforming modern clinical embryology, bringing together internationally recognised experts to discuss innovations spanning chromosome segregation, laboratory traceability, and artificial intelligence.

Dr Eirini Bellou opened the session by presenting new approaches to preventing meiotic aneuploidy, exploring the biological mechanisms underlying chromosome segregation errors and discussing novel strategies aimed at improving oocyte quality and reducing aneuploid embryo formation.

Cynthia Hudson then focused on the critical role of witnessing and traceability within the IVF laboratory. Her presentation demonstrated how modern digital witnessing systems can strengthen patient safety, improve operational efficiency, and provide complete sample traceability throughout the assisted reproduction process.

The final presentation, delivered by Dr Matthew "Tex" VerMilyea together with Dr Tricia Adams, provided a practical roadmap for laboratories beginning their AI journey. The session explored the organisational, technical and cultural foundations required for successful AI implementation, highlighting the importance of data quality, workflow optimisation, staff engagement, and realistic expectations when introducing artificial intelligence into routine clinical practice.

The webinar concluded with an interactive panel discussion and live audience Q&A, during which the speakers addressed questions on implementing emerging technologies, maintaining laboratory quality and governance, and preparing IVF laboratories for the next generation of digital transformation.

Moderators:
Bill Venier & Dr Giovanni Coticchio

Presenters:
Dr Eirini Bellou, PhD: New Approaches to Prevent Meiotic Aneuploidy
Kindly sponsored by U-Ploid Biotechnologies

Cynthia Hudson: Total Recall
Kindly sponsored by Matcher & TMRW - proudly part of Reprotech

Dr Matthew “Tex” VerMilyea, PhD, HCLD/CC: 6 Clicks to Success: The Quick Start Guide to AI Readiness

with Dr Tricia Adams
Kindly sponsored by Alife Health

Q and A

The International IVF Initiative (I3) webinar  "New Rules", explored emerging approaches to decision-making in assisted reproduction, focusing on both genetic testing strategies and sperm selection technologies.

Dr. Nasser Al-Asmar Piñar examined the evolving role of preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) within contemporary IVF practice. He discussed situations in which PGT may provide meaningful clinical value, while also highlighting circumstances where its use may be unnecessary or offer limited benefit. The presentation encouraged a more individualised and evidence-based approach to patient selection and clinical decision-making, challenging the notion that genetic testing should be routinely applied in all cases.

A/Prof Hassan Bakos presented an overview of next-generation sperm selection strategies, exploring how the field is moving beyond traditional assessments based primarily on motility. He reviewed emerging evidence surrounding sperm quality, functionality, and selection technologies designed to identify sperm with characteristics associated with improved reproductive potential. The presentation highlighted the growing recognition that sperm selection may require a broader assessment framework than conventional laboratory parameters alone.

The webinar concluded with a lively question-and-answer session, during which the speakers discussed the practical implementation of these technologies, the strength of the current evidence base, and the potential impact of these evolving approaches on future IVF laboratory and clinical practice.

For many years, one of the central trade-offs in IVF was the balance between success and safety. Transferring more than one embryo could increase the chance of pregnancy from a single transfer, but it also increased the risk of twins and higher-order multiple pregnancies. Those pregnancies carry greater risks for both mother and babies, including preterm birth, low birth weight and pregnancy complications.

A new study presented at the 42nd Annual Meeting of ESHRE suggests that this trade-off has changed substantially in modern IVF practice. Researchers analysed outcomes from 18,396 women undergoing their first IVF cycle between January 2012 and December 2021 across seven Australian fertility clinics, with follow-up through December 2023. The study found that contemporary IVF practice achieved a 68.2 percent cumulative live birth rate over three treatment cycles using optimal per-protocol analysis, while single embryo transfer was used in 95.3 percent of embryo transfers. The multiple birth rate was just 2.9 percent.

These findings are important because they show that high cumulative success rates can be achieved without routinely transferring multiple embryos. Earlier IVF studies, carried out before the widespread use of several now-standard laboratory and clinical practices, reported three-cycle cumulative live birth rates of around 53 to 59 percent, often with multiple pregnancy rates above 20 percent. In contrast, this newer dataset reflects a period in which blastocyst culture, vitrification, freeze-all strategies and optimised frozen embryo transfer protocols had become much more widely embedded in clinical care.

The age-related pattern remained clear. Women under 35 had an optimal cumulative live birth rate of 84.5 percent over three treatment cycles. This fell to 74.4 percent for women aged 35 to 37, 57.7 percent for women aged 38 to 40 and 30.1 percent for women aged 41 to 42. This reinforces a familiar point in reproductive medicine: improvements in IVF laboratory performance can raise overall effectiveness, but they do not remove the biological effect of reproductive ageing.

The study also gives a useful view of how incremental changes in the laboratory may translate into clinical outcomes. Between 2012 to 2015 and 2017 to 2021, the proportion of fertilised eggs developing into usable blastocysts increased from 48.3 percent to 57.6 percent. Over the same period, single embryo transfer increased from 92.8 percent to 97.3 percent, while the multiple birth rate fell from 3.2 percent to 2.7 percent.

This is not a story of one single technology transforming IVF. It is more likely a story of cumulative refinement. Extended embryo culture to day 5 or 6, improved culture systems, lower oxygen environments, reduced embryo handling, more reliable vitrification and better frozen embryo transfer preparation have together changed what clinics can expect from one embryo at a time.

The findings also touch on the role of preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy, or PGT-A. In the study, PGT-A was used in one or more treatment cycles in 25 percent of women. However, the overall outcomes were achieved without routine genetic testing for all patients. This does not diminish the value of PGT-A in selected groups, such as patients of advanced maternal age or those with recurrent pregnancy loss, but it does suggest that strong cumulative outcomes are possible in modern IVF programmes without universal use of embryo genetic testing.

For embryologists and IVF laboratories, the message is practical as well as reassuring. The success of single embryo transfer depends on confidence in the full system: stimulation, embryo culture, cryopreservation, warming, endometrial preparation, embryo selection and clinical decision-making. When these elements are well controlled, single embryo transfer can support both high success rates and safer pregnancies.

The study also highlights why cumulative live birth rate is such a useful measure. Patients experience IVF over time, not just as one transfer or one cycle. A single embryo transfer strategy may not always maximise the chance of pregnancy from one isolated transfer, but it can preserve safety while maintaining strong overall chances across a complete treatment pathway.

Modern IVF is increasingly defined not only by whether it can achieve pregnancy, but by whether it can do so safely, consistently and with fewer avoidable complications. This large cohort study supports the view that, in well-developed IVF programmes, single embryo transfer is no longer a compromise. It is becoming a central part of effective, contemporary care.

Sources

8 July 2026. ESHRE

• Modern IVF achieves higher success rates with single embryo transfer, major study finds

A new study presented at the 42nd Annual Meeting of ESHRE has added important clinical evidence to a long-standing question in reproductive medicine: when donor eggs are used, how much does the age of the uterus still matter?

For many years, reproductive ageing has been discussed largely in terms of oocyte quality. This is understandable. Oocyte aneuploidy, reduced developmental competence and declining ovarian reserve are major contributors to lower fertility with increasing maternal age. Donor-oocyte treatment is therefore often viewed as a way to bypass the biological effects of ovarian ageing.

The new study, led by researchers from the IVIRMA Global Research Alliance at IVI Roma, suggests that this picture is more complex. By analysing donor-oocyte cycles, where embryo potential is less directly tied to the recipient’s own oocyte age, the researchers were able to look more closely at the contribution of recipient age and the uterine environment.

The analysis included 2,760 single blastocyst transfers in 1,774 women undergoing donor-oocyte treatment between March 2021 and December 2024. Outcomes were compared across four recipient age groups: 35 to 40, 41 to 45, 46 to 49 and 49 years or older. The study assessed clinical pregnancy rates, live birth rates, miscarriage rates and endometrial features, while adjusting for embryo, maternal and paternal factors.

The most clinically relevant finding was the identification of 49 years as a threshold beyond which outcomes appeared to decline despite the use of donor eggs. Clinical pregnancy rates decreased from 54.0% in recipients aged 35 to 40 to 42.6% in those aged 49 and over. Live birth rates fell from 46.2% to 31.7% across the same age comparison. Miscarriage rates increased from 24.2% to 37.6%.

The study also reported a reduction in cumulative live birth rates when all available embryos were transferred. Among recipients aged 35 to 40, the cumulative live birth rate was 80.0%. In recipients aged 49 and over, it was 62.5%. These findings suggest that donor eggs can substantially improve reproductive potential in older patients, but may not completely remove the influence of recipient age.

A particularly interesting aspect of the study was its assessment of the endometrium. Endometrial thickness remained similar across age groups, but the proportion of women with a trilaminar endometrial pattern declined with age. This pattern, often associated with endometrial receptivity, was present in 94.7% of women aged 35 to 40 compared with 81.0% of women aged 49 and over.

This distinction is important. Endometrial thickness is widely measured in clinical practice, but thickness alone may not fully capture the functional state of the uterine environment. A uterus that appears adequate by thickness may still show age-related changes in vascular function, immune signalling, hormonal response, stromal behaviour or molecular receptivity.

The findings do not suggest that donor-oocyte IVF is ineffective in older recipients. On the contrary, pregnancy and live birth outcomes remained clinically meaningful even in women at advanced reproductive ages. However, the data support more nuanced counselling. Donor eggs can address the problem of oocyte ageing, but they may not fully reset reproductive ageing if the uterine environment has also changed.

For IVF clinics and laboratories, the study reinforces the importance of separating embryo-related and uterine-related contributors to treatment outcome. A high-quality donor-oocyte blastocyst may still implant and develop within a biological environment influenced by recipient age. This has implications for patient counselling, protocol selection and future research into endometrial assessment.

The next step will be to understand what “uterine biological age” really means in clinical terms. The study points toward the need for better biomarkers that go beyond age, endometrial thickness and visual pattern. Future work may help identify which patients have preserved uterine receptivity at older ages and which may have an increased risk of miscarriage or reduced live birth despite good embryo quality.

For now, this study offers a useful and balanced message. Donor-oocyte treatment remains a powerful option for patients affected by ovarian ageing. At the same time, reproductive ageing should not be viewed as exclusively ovarian. After 49, uterine and endometrial ageing may become increasingly relevant to the chance of live birth.

Sources

6 July 2026. ESHRE

• New study links uterine ageing to poorer pregnancy outcomes after 49 despite donor eggs

6 July 2026. Human Reproduction

• Advanced maternal age independently affects live birth and increases miscarriage risk in donor oocyte cycles