Evolution of a Successful IVF / ICSI Programme at Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi

The availability of a successful IVF / ICSI programme is an essential quality indicator of any tertiary level healthcare institution in the current medical era. IVF & ICSI treatment is the only effective recourse for many couples with severe tubal and male infertility or long standing infertility after failed conventional treatment. It is common for the IVF centers to grow clinically without the proper quality control (QC) and assurance (QA) system in place. However when such a system fails, it can be quite a difficult task to identify the root cause(s). Therefore while setting up any IVF/ICSI programme, a comprehensive quality control strategy to cover each aspect of the IVF/ICSI programme including patients' selection, screening, monitoring, ovarian stimulation, oocyte retrieval, embryology procedures and embryo transfer technique is essential. The authors describe their experience of developing a successful IVF/ICSI programme at Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi, which would provide a sound foundation for further development and research in the ever-growing field of reproductive medicine. A clinical pregnancy rate of 40% and a live birth rate of 32.5% per IVF/ICSI cycle, compare vary favorably with the best IVF/ICSI results in the world.