Maintaining consistent and reliably high success rates is a daily challenge for every IVF laboratory. This step-by-step guide is an essential aid in navigating the complex maze of physical, chemical, biological, and logistic parameters that underpin successful gamete and embryo culture: temperature, pH, osmolality, gas supplies, air quality, light exposure, infections, managing supplies, personnel, as well as overall quality control. Numerous real-life troubleshooting case reports are presented, identifying all aspects necessary for troubleshooting. Process maps and flow charts accompanying each chapter offer a logical and systematic approach to problem solving in the laboratory. This is an essential resource for scientists in assisted reproductive technology and specialists in reproductive biology and medicine, helping IVF clinics to achieve the dream of every infertile couple: the birth of a healthy child.

Infertility affects an estimated 50 million women worldwide and has a wide range of causes including eating disorders, smoking, chemotherapy, diseases such as STIs, as well as genetic factors and malformations. The preliminary assessment and diagnosis involves a potentially broad array of lab and imaging tests, physical examination and potentially genetic tests, after which a management plan is selected depending on the woman’s age, the cause(s) and duration of the infertility. Female Infertility: Core Principles and Clinical Management provides clinicians with a comprehensive understanding of how best to overcome infertility using the various treatment options now available. The book opens with an introduction to the anatomy and physiology of the female reproductive system before describing the assessment and investigative tools used in primary and secondary healthcare settings. Subsequent chapters describe how to secure optimum functionality of the ovaries, the measurement of ovarian reserves, stimulation protocols and the process of oogenesis and oocyte collection. Given their potential adverse impact on the quality of oocytes and implantation, dedicated chapters focus on the treatment of polycystic ovarian syndrome and endometriosis. Concluding chapters address fast moving and future technologies, including the use of pluripotent stem cells for treating different medical conditions; the management of mitochondrial disease and the transplantation of cryopreserved ovaries. Highly illustrated and written by a team of international experts in the field, Female Infertility: Core Principles and Clinical Management serves as an essential resource for all clinicians, nurses and clinical scientists who specialise in reproductive medicine, gynecology, oncology, infertility and embryology.