Welcome to another Beyond the Webinar episode of the I3 Podcast, where we're joining the after party which followed the Embryo Biopsy webinar which you can view in full here. Nearly 1k people joined the webinar which focused on the practice of blastocyst biopsy with experienced biopsy practitioners. It was a fascinating conversation highlighting the practicalities when performing this delicate technique in the routine IVF lab, giving valuable advice on the methods, troubleshooting and tips. In this episode you will join the moderators Thomas Elliott and Dr. Tony Anderson along with speakers Debbie Venier, Dr. Charlene Alouf and Dr. Bec Holmes and members of the I3 team all discussing how it went 

What was discussed:

• Re-biopsy something every embryologist possibly has questions on - challenges around rebiopsing 
• TBR’s - when the embryo doesn’t seem worth it
• When TBR’s are planned according to when the lab has time  
• The impact on a lab that is short staffed. 
• Cost implications 
• Data available on rebiopsy age vs aneuploidy/ euploid
• Grading
• Read rates - spectrum and how labs vary 
• 40% of embryos tested have aneupoliody and the impact this has on implantation
• Should these test be done on all patients?
• The impact on Day 5 or Day 6 biopsy and implantation rates

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Welcome to another episode of the I3 podcast, where once again we go Beyond the Webinar to hear the discussions that followed two sessions recently shared with the I3 community. 

First up you will hear the panel's thoughts after the session called Quality Inside - discussing quality measures that are evident in IVF clinics across the globe and best practise- highlighting new technologies to help embryologists to obtain a robust quality control (QC) system for lab equipment and environment. Speakers included: Dr. Jean Popwell, Cassie Miller, Dr Mina Alikani, Dr Thomas B. (Rusty) Pool, Dr Gerardo Mendizaba Ruiz, Dr Michael Skumial and Dr. Alison Campbell and Ineabelle Collazo

Then you will hear the comments following the session titled ‘Mind the [generation] gap’ which focussed on showcasing the new demographic entering the ART workforce, the digital native, Gen Z and looked at how with an ageing workforce what will attract new talent to the profession and how best do labs work with different generations having different knowledge in terms of systems and process. 

Quality Control in the Cloud 

Watch the full session here 

What was discussed: 

• Cyber Security issues
• The impact that has in the lab & How labs can overcome the risks - guy around 7 min  
• Security within labs can be restrictive  - separate platforms have to be used for software that is being implemented. 
• How you have to think about every way software is implemented - Hacking can happen through Ultrasound machines
• What could happen if QC data is connected to patient success - how Dr Google could act against the lab with a patient seeing data and thinking something wasn’t done correctly? 
• You can anonymise systems
• Should data from an embryoscope be part of the medical record? Extra info that is discoverable could be misinterpreted. How sometimes too much information can be detrimental.
• Considerations about choosing a product that is customizable, so not everything goes to the EMR. 

Now we’re going to hear the panelists from the Mind the ‘Generation’ Gap which was hosted by Veteran senior embryologist, lab manager and mentor, Dr Kimball Pomeroy and former embryologist and current educator Huey Huynh, Panelists Savannah Palmer, Toyin Ojo and Angela Regan and Presenters: Fran Farlie Radhika Kakula-vara-pu and Chloe He

Watch the full session here 

• Discussion about obstacles affecting the LGBTQ+ community 
• Questions were raised about climate emissions from IVF and the importance of labs being sustainable. 
• Explanation of ‘Population Matters’ - Lobby group who are targeting students at Universities to think about their decision to have a family. 
• Discussions about population size issues - the world population is 8bn people, double since 1974. The rate we’re expanding is significant. 
• Discussion of how AI can help with more insight into Embryos 
• The difference in software usage amongst generations - gaps in knowledge 
• Importance of efficient databases/systems to ensure ‘user experience’ works for everyone, cross-generation. 
• Issues around finding new embryologists around the world - retractions on people practicing in different countries.
• Better funding for pipeline of talent in the UK
• Importance of awareness raising of what Embryology actually is - to attract more talent
• Lack of societal...

Welcome to another Beyond the Webinar episode, following the I3 session discussing Best Practices in Cryogovernance. The panel discussed how they are dealing with issues concerning the problems faced by clinics around the world with the increasing rising inventory of frozen specimens after IVF. The session was moderated by Senior Embryologist Dr. Mina Alikani, President of Alpha Scientists in Reproductive Medicine and British patient advocate and podcast host of The Fertility Podcast Natalie Silverman who was joined by an experienced panel consisting of a senior embryologist from Europe, Christianna Makri, lab managers from two large UK clinics Charissa Watchorn and Anastasia Mania and the vice president of clinical strategy of the TMRW group, embryologist Cynthia Hudson. 

The speakers were Dr. Michael Collins, Glenn Proctor, Dr. Steven Katz and Robert Perkinson.  We'd like to give a huge thank you to our session sponsor TMRW Life Sciences and you can watch the full session here 

What was discussed: 

• Different regulations around the world  - what they mean 
• Common worry globally worry about cryostorage amongst embryologists
• How bio-repositories in the UK are on standby for smaller clinics or partner clinics locally which have reciprocal agreements 
• What is going into cryostorage, it’s not just embryos it’s also eggs, so a 20yr old might not want them for a decade. 
• How patients are encouraged to discard or donate material because they don’t want to pay, but if there are no storage fees they might just forget about them
• How the industry needs to think about better communication, so the clinic is clear to patients about the process - roles and responsibilities. Guidelines with the paperwork about - being able to contact patients etc to help with the issue of orphaned embryos. 
• Better engagement is needed with the patient to give them the perceived value of what they have in storage 
• What protections are in place in the US and the issues that the industry faces
• Language used such as 'discarding' embryos creates issues for patients as it can be triggering and how patients can bury their heads in the sand when not knowing what to do with their frozen gametes. 
• Could there be a monthly fee, rather than the yearly storage fee?
• Coverage that clinics have for the storage and the attention that is paid to the tanks
• What can go wrong with Dewers - how problems are managed, how they are monitored.
• Warranty on Dewers
• Explanation of how TMRW storage process works  - it’s a specimen management software tool

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Make sure you keep an eye on the upcoming events at IVFMeeting.com for the follow-up to this conversation

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