Managing the IVF laboratory during a pandemic: international perspectives from laboratory managers

Abstract

Fertility societies worldwide responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by recommending that fertility clinics close, or sharply reduce, the clinical operation, leading to a shift in the management of IVF laboratories in three phases: shutdown preparation; maintenance during shutdown; and restart. Each of these phases carries distinct risks that need identification and mitigation, forcing laboratory managers to rethink and adapt their procedures in response to the pandemic. The sudden and unprecedented nature of the pandemic forced laboratory managers from around the world to base decisions on opinion and experience when evidence-based response options were unavailable. These perspectives on pandemic response were presented during a virtual international symposium on COVID-19, held on 3 April 2020, and organized by the London Laboratory Managers' Group. Laboratory managers from seven different countries at different stages of the pandemic (China, Italy, Spain, France, UK, Brazil and Australia) presented their personal experiences to a select audience of experienced laboratory managers from 19 different countries. The intention of this paper is to collect the learnings and considerations from this group of laboratory managers who collaborated to share personal experiences to contribute to the debate surrounding what constitutes good IVF laboratory practice in extraordinary circumstances, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Resuming Assisted Reproduction Services during COVID-19 Pandemic: An Initial Indian Experience

“…Our results indicate the need for an anticipatory planning, close monitoring of the ordering and purchase routines, and co-ordination not only at the clinic level but with distributors, and manufacturers as well, both for completion of on-going cycles and for smooth restarting. [ 47 ] Another major requirement for service resumption in an IVF clinic is the staff adapting to the new norms. [ 47 ] A high asymptomatic infection state, high human-to-human transmission rate, and survival of the virus on surfaces for unusually long periods are important aspects of this pandemic.…”

“…[ 47 ] Another major requirement for service resumption in an IVF clinic is the staff adapting to the new norms. [ 47 ] A high asymptomatic infection state, high human-to-human transmission rate, and survival of the virus on surfaces for unusually long periods are important aspects of this pandemic. [ 48 ] Clinicians and laboratory and paramedical staff must be acutely aware of this and act appropriately.…”

Resuming assisted reproduction services during COVID-19 Pandemic: An Indian experience

“…To minimize 'in-person' visits to the clinic and provide appropriate clinical services, use of telemedicine has been widely advised [2,3,5,6,28]. We devised a tele-questionnaire that spanned questions not just about the medical problems but also provided information on clinic preparedness and obtain an understanding telephonically if the couples would qualify triaging.…”

Social Impact of IVF (After COVID-19 Pandemic and New Normal)

“…The studies show that COVID-19 have affected many disciplines and speciality in healthcare; however, no clear evidence that it had a significant negative effect on IVF services in the first few. This may be due to the availability of laboratories protocols that helped to manage the postponement of the specific procedures where the sperm would fertilise the women egg, in the specific setting (Anifandis et al, 2020;Hickman et al, 2020).…”

“…The paper explores and foresight whether IVF, as we know it today, i.e. after COVID-19 pandemic would be cost-effective and would need to change the main inputs for its service requirements (Hickman et al, 2020).…”