Events like biological sample mix up are very rare in IVF procedure, but still leave the couples anxious and worried. To eliminate all possible risks associated with the procedure, Oasis Centre For Reproductive Medicine are adding another layer of security at each step of the process. For the first time Oasis is introducing Electronic Witnessing System (EWS) at all of their facilities.
World IVF Day, is celebrated to commemorate the birthday of the first test tube baby of the world Louise Brown who was born to this couple in Royal Oldham Hospital, United Kingdom. Today Louis Brown is proud mother of two sons who were conceived naturally and celebrating her 41st Birthday. She is the first among 7 millions and still counting babies who have been born through IVF.
Talking on the occasion Dr Durga G Rao, Co- Founder and Medical Director of Oasis Centre for Reproductive Medicine stated that “When you start your treatment at Oasis Fertility, you can be reassured that we take adequate care of your oocytes, embryos and sperm. We are now equipped with a state-of-the-art Electronic Witnessing System (EWS) in our laboratory, designed to further safeguard the transparency and ensure that the process is undertaken without any human errors. This technology is India’s first home grown technology brought to us by ARTis Witness a pioneer in web based fertility treatment software with concept of Make in India.” For availing IVF treatment the first thing a couple looks for is the success rate and the second thing is transparency, particularly in our kind of environment the couple is confused and not very confident that their eggs and sperm has been used. So we are proactively bringing in that element of trust and confidence through EWS. Every couple which comes to us knows through EWS what drug was given, the protocol adopted, the number of eggs, embryos used etc. This data and record will be shared with the patient so that they are aware of each step and process adopted.
Electronic Witnessing System is a ‘track and trace’ system covering every single stage of the treatment process. This system improves traceability and quality control, while reducing laboratory-based risk. It tracks samples at predefined procedural steps in IVF laboratories to prevent mix-ups and provide an automated solution for mandatory double witnessing. This is achieved through assigning unique IDs and personal codes for all the samples. These codes, tagged to the samples, enable easy detection signals, identification, tracking and recording at every step. Only once the identity is confirmed through EWS, the Embryologist will proceed with insemination. In an unlikely event of sample mismatch, the system will alert the Embryologist preventing potential errors. The unique ID is automatically checked against the tagged embryo prior to the transfer. “
Electronic Witnessing System involves assigning a code to each couple. This code is tagged to all usable apparatus. If at any point there is a mismatch of samples, the system will alert immediately. The system confirms the identity of the sample and allows the doctor to proceed further with the process. It monitors and records every event in the lab. EWS is a automated process with zero error and ensures foolproof reporting and documentation for the patient to verify at any stage and even later, says Dr Durga G Rao.
Adding to these points Dr Krishna Chaitanya – Scientific Head and Clinical Embryologist of Oasis Centre for Reproductive Medicine said that “There are numerous benefits using the Electornic Witnessing System, there is automated cross checking and it ensures critical detection and prevention of human errors. It is safe and secure process which increases the confidence during every step of the cycle. EWS eliminates the potential risk of possible mismatching during sample handling and Vulnerability to human errors including check omission, check incomplete, involuntary automaticity, and non contemporaneous checking. It Prevents Embryologists from accidentally working on more than one patient’s gametes at a time and Marks each course step, ensuring prevention of omitting key tasks in the process “