21:46 9th December 2017 | Transport IVF

Oocytes IVF Plachot Feichtinger Kemeter Incubators Gamete Transporters Assisted Conception PGD PGS Cryopreservation Ovarian Stimulation Fertility Clinics

Transport IVF was first developed and tested by Plachot et al. in France and by Feichtinger and Kemeter in Vienna.

It involves the transport of oocytes (mature ova/eggs) from a clinic to an IVF lab. Once they reach the IVF lab they can be fertilised and cultured.

The resultant embryos are then transported to the original clinic for transfer. Highly trusted incubators, known as gamete transporters, are used for the transport process.

These trusted incubators are carried by embryologists who also perform egg collection and embryo transfer or alternatively by trained personnel for transfer across clinics.

What is the Purpose of Transport IVF?

When a private or public hospital partners with a fertility clinic such as Bridge Clinic, high quality assisted conception services can be provided at an affordable cost.

World-class healthcare in Nigeria

All our laboratories have an internationally-accredited (ISO 9001:2015) Quality Management System, the only one of its kind in the country. 

Bridge Clinic voluntarily submits all our data annually to be audited by Alexander Forbes. 

We also have a long-established partnership with the foremost IVF clinic in Europe: IVF Centre Prof. Zech. 

Our results speak for themselves: our treatments have resulted in one baby being delivered every three days. 

What are Bridge Clinic’s Objectives for Transport IVF?

The objectives are as follows:

1. Build capacity and offer training and support for assisted reproductive techniques at partner clinics and hospitals.
2. Reduce the cost of setup of an assisted conception unit for the partner clinic/hospital by providing technical assistance for the laboratory procedures in an existing, off-site laboratory.
3. Offer basic laboratory and advanced services such as PGD/PGS and cryopreservation services to partner clinics and hospitals.

Criteria Partners Need to Meet

1. The existence of a gynaecological unit in the hospital clinic: the required level of technical competence vis-a-vis professional experience.
2. Moderately setup laboratory to handle egg collection/embryo transfer procedures: for onsite procedures.
3. A minimum number of patient flow (10 clients per month) in a designated period to determine the viability of the partnership: this will help ensure that the business remains viable and profitable to both partners.
4. Serology screening must be done with ISO certified laboratory (ISO 15189).

Partner Selection Criteria

To be selected, partners need to have the following basic laboratory equipment and materials for Transport IVF:

• Incubator
• Light Microscope
• Centrifuge
• Stereomicroscope
• Laminar Flow Hood
• Gamete Transporter (Optional)

IVF laboratory management 

 

Bridge Clinic also offers a laboratory management service. 

Allows existing laboratories to be taken over by us and upgraded to international standards of quality and to be able to handle the procedures required for transport IVF. 

• New equipment and material installed 

• Experienced personnel hired 

• Existing personnel trained up 

• ISO-accredited quality management system implemented 

• The facility is rebranded as an accredited Bridge Clinic laboratory 

• Becomes part of our transport IVF network 

Which procedures take place at the Partner Clinic?

• Patient Selection
• Ovarian Stimulation
• Monitoring
• Ultrasound-guided follicular fluid aspiration

The egg collection and embryo transfer are then transported to the fertility clinic, for example, Bridge Clinic, where oocytes, fertilisation and culture of resultant embryos take place.

Benefits of Transport IVF

• Strict quality control of laboratory procedures
• Performance of different groups of patients and physicians can be compared
• Reduces cost of average IVF cycle by about 30%: reduced cost to set up and maintain individual IVF laboratories and maximise the use of existing equipment and personnel
• High-quality assisted conception services are more cost-effective, especially in locations where a limited amount of highly specialised IVF laboratories exist
• Assisted conception techniques available to those physicians not affiliated with assisted conception centres
• Better use of existing facilities and expertise to offer communities more comprehensive and organised infertility services
• IVF services are more accessible to patients who may not have a facility at a location more convenient for them
• Patients can stay close to home since the majority of procedures can be done by a doctor they know; emotional discomfort, as well as travel and accommodation costs, possibly reduced

Beyond infertility

Transport IVF services are not limited to infertility treatments; oncologists and cancer patients can also benefit. 

Nigeria has high rates of cervical cancer and cancer in general, the treatment of which can lead to problems with fertility for patients. 

Our IVF laboratories offer cryopreservation services, allowing patients to freeze eggs and sperm for a later date. Patients avoid the infertility risk of their cancer treatment and can treat their cancer aggressively. 

Our IVF laboratories are also able to conduct PGT on potential embryos, allowing patients to proactively screen embryos for specific diseases.

For example, sickle-cell anaemia affects over 150 000 newborns in Nigeria annually, with only 5% surviving past ten years old. These tools allow patients to screen for this disease. 

Transport IVF services allow parents to screen potential children for:

• Sickle-cell anaemia

• Cancer risks

• Chromosomal abnormalities/Aneuploidy

• 13 other genetic disorders

Essential Measures

• For quality assurance and quality control purposes, excellent communication between fertility clinics and their partner clinics must be ensured and they must adhere to the same protocol.
• Partner clinic physicians have to receive training to ensure familiarity with transvaginal ultrasound measurement of follicles according to the protocol of the transport clinic.

Would you like to learn more about this service? Please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Email: enquiries@thebridgeclinic.com
Call:    01 631 0092 / +234 (0)1 631 0092

Whatsapp: +234 810 460 7791

Visit any of our locations in Lagos, Abuja or Port Harcourt

Book Appointment

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