As part of its Continuous Education Program (CEP), the Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences at the Faculty of Public Health at the Lebanese German University (LGU) organized a scientific half-day entitled “A TRIP IN THE WORLD OF IVF”. The event, which was held on Saturday 29th of April 2017 from 8:00 to 13:00 at LGU campus in Sahel Alma, hosted health care professionals, students, and representatives from several hospitals, medical laboratories, IVF clinics, and universities.

The conference was opened with a welcome speech by Dr. Paul Makhlouf, Dean of the Faculty of Public Health, followed by a word delivered by Dr. José Noel Ibrahim, Head of the Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences. In turn, Dr. Jessica Azoury introduced infertility and spoke about its prevalence, causes, and treatment before presenting an overview of IVF stimulation protocols.

In other respects, Dr. Robert Bader discussed the latest advances in assisted reproductive technologies with a particular focus on the purpose of the embryoscope and Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) in IVF procedures.

Dr. Georges Raad, on the other hand, talked about fertility banking as an important tool to protect the future of the couple. He also pointed out the different quality control systems that can improve the efficiency of IVF treatment and guarantee the future of the clinic.

Finally, Dr. Ali Mourad emphasized the importance of autologous mitochondrial transfer in Intra-Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) as a new approach to improving oocyte and embryo quality in IVF patients, thus giving a new hope to infertile couples.

The closing speech was delivered by Dr. Joseph Azoury, Director of Azoury IVF Clinic, who summarized the importance of IVF as a current routine practice treatment for infertility in Lebanon.

Feedback from participants highlighted the success of the event which was fruitful and informative at all levels.