On the 8th of April 2021, Professor Eva Hoffmann was among the first presenters at the virtual ’Best of ASRM & ESHRE 2021’ conference with her lecture on Molecular mechanisms behind women’s biological clock. The lecture was in the cutting-edge track, illustrating innovations and new findings in reproductive medicine and biology.
Two days later Professor Søren Ziebe rounded off the conference, when he was debating blastocyst transfer over cleavage stage transfer with Harvard Professor and Embryologist, Catherine Racowsky.
An important step during an assisted reproduction cycle is the transfer of the embryo from the laboratory to the uterus. Traditionally, cleavage-stage embryos were transferred on day 2-3, but over the past decade there has been a move to transferring blastocysts on day 5 or 6.
“In fact, I would rather discuss how we need more knowledge and clinical evidence to argue the best treatment method, as well as in relation to the different techniques used in the clinical practice. For this Saturday-evening debate it seemed to be well received to take the debate somewhat in that direction,” commented Søren Ziebe, who is leading ReproUnion’s Fertility Awareness Challenge 5. Find out more about viewpoints and references made in the debate: Cleavage stage transfer should be abandoned.
From the best treatment method and back to science and molecular mechanisms, ReproUnion board member, Eva Hoffmann reflected: “This is a great example of the different capabilities we represent in ReproUnion. I started presenting scientific advances in why fertility rates decline as women get older and Søren ended on the evidence needed to support clinical practice. This illustrates the translational opportunities we have in ReproUnion, to both understand the molecular mechanisms that underlie infertility and optimize reproductive treatments”.
Almost 2000 members of ESHRE and ASRM, as well as many non-members, were registered for this seventh joint meeting of the two societies.