August 15, 2008

On August 15-16, 2008 The NYU Fertility Center and the Cork Fertility Center, Cork, Ireland, held "A Hands-On Blastocyst Workshop" at the Fota Island Hotel in Cork, Ireland. One hundred attendees from Ireland, Europe and the US heard lectures by the combined faculties and participated in practical workshops conducted by embryologists from both NYU and Cork.

Participants from NYU included Jamie Grifo, MD, PhD, Director of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at NYU School of Medicine who spoke about pre-implantation diagnosis and oocyte freezing; Alan Berkeley, MD, Director of IVF at NYU Fertility Center, whose topics included extended culture in assisted reproduction and IVF stimulation protocols, Dr. Lewis Krey, Director of the Embryology Laboratory at NYU Fertility Center who spoke about quality control in the IVF laboratory, embryo cryopreservation and early embryonic development, and Dr. Caroline McCaffrey, Co-Supervisor of the NYU Fertility Center's Embryology Lab, whose topic was extended embryo culture techniques. Dr. McCaffrey also directed the hands-on laboratory portion of the program, along with NYU senior embryologists Adrienne Chin and Melicia Clarke-Williams. These workshops included practical training in the handling of blastocysts in culture and embryo cryopreservation, including the new technique of vitrification.

The program was supported by a grant from Rochford Medical Ltd (UK).