Action plan for setting up of IVF Lab facility
The IVF Lab Facility
The IVF lab facility is the most critical work area in the entire ART Centre. In this area sperm embryos and oocytes are manipulated openly after following disinfection and sterilization steps. The design consideration is normally on internal air quality (IAQ) requirements. The facility can be Grade A, Grade B, Grade C, or Grade D depending on the standard followed and implemented.
Sample Procurement
In assisted conception, two types of biological samples enter the system-spermatozoa and oocyte. Unlike many other areas of tissues banking where specimens are taken from different areas, assisted reproduction deals with donors of gametes, sperms and none of these samples can be disinfected or sterilized prior to use in IVF lab and during the process of in Vitro fertilisation and embryo culture or open process.
Sample Handling and Processing
The IVF lab designs prime purpose should be to ensure the quality and safety of transplanted tissue and cells while this means that specimen handling must be performed in a way that they should minimize risks of infection and disease transmission. It must also ensure that the processing requirements do not compromise the functional potential of the cells.
Positive Pressure Design
The IVF Lab should employ positive pressure to exclude contamination coming from surrounding areas with the provision of fresh air intake to replace CO2 gas released in the IVF Lab. This not only will protect the embryos, but also the embryologist.
Modular Clean Room and Air Quality
The air quality required may vary from air grades A-D. Microbial contaminant level can be minimized with HEPA filtration, VOC filtrations and modular clean room design. The modular cleanroom concept facilitates ease in building of partitions, ease of cleanability, curving of joints, provision for electrical and gas pipelines, with proper aesthetic looks.
Packing, Labeling and Storage
The IVF lab design should also address to the packing of the tissues and cells storage, which in the case of reproductive material means cryo banking.
Traceability
The IVF Lab design should also lead to the pronouncement of required standards for traceability of specimen. This will involve labeling specifications and requirements for data retention.
State Of The Art
IVF lab facility at Pulse Women's Hospital, India, has Supraclean Plus IVF workstation, Olympus IX71 inverted microscope with Narishighe ON3 micromanipulators and Galaxy CO2 incubators.
IVF Lab Setup
The closer view of Supraclean Plus workstation consists of, heated workplace for stereo zoom microscope for embryo culture, and inverted microscope with micro manipulators, along with thin film transistor, or TFT, flat screen monitor coupled to main server for recording or simultaneously viewing in consultation room or embryo transfer room at Pulse Women's Hospital, India.
