(From left to right): Dr Hrishikesh Pai, Organising Secretary and President of ISAR, Dr Dhiraj Gadda, the organising chairperson; former president of ISAR and Dr Kuldeep Jain, organising Secretary and founder of IFS.
New Delhi, March 2, 2015: Against the backdrop of rising incidence of infertility cases in India, the country is all set to host for the first time the prestigious 22nd IFFS World Conference, an initiative of International Federation of Fertility Societies (IFFS), aiming to promote knowledge, education and research in the field of reproductive medicine and raise standards of practice.
The concerted and consistent efforts of prominent Indian bodies working in the field like Indian Fertility Society (IFS) and Indian Society for Assisted Reproduction (ISAR), under the steadfast leadership of
Dr Dhiraj Gadda, the organising chairperson and former president of ISAR, made possible the IFFS World Congress in India.
The opportunity for India to host the 22nd IFFS World Congress is significant as it was pitted against Australia, Singapore and Japan for the bidding for the event. The five-day symposium will be held in September 2016, and provide a platform for Indian medical practitioners to showcase before the world India’s supremacy in the field of Assisted Reproduction Technique (ART), including in vitro fertilisation (IVF). It will also present them with the opportunity to get benefitted immensely by the expansion of scope of discussions on latest techniques and training around infertility from around the world.
“The launch of world body like IFFS in India is a breakthrough step as it will provide a window to the IVF practitioners in India to global IVF and ART procedures and practices. It will help initiate a discourse in India on medical advancement and the exemplary work Indian practitioners are doing in the field. IFS and ISAR have been working for a long time now to bring to India the World Conference of IFFS, whose membership consists of the national fertility societies and societies of reproductive medicine of close to 70 nations,“ said Dr Kuldeep Jain, organizing Secretary and founder of IFS.
India has of late become the favorite destination for medical tourism because of world-class infrastructure, excellent expertise, on a par results and cost effective treatments. Many medical facilities are being provided to the world audience, including ART. However, India is being wrongly projected as surrogacy capital of the world when surrogacy is only 5% of cycles and the rest are IVFs. The conference will help clear the notion and project the country as the ART capital of the world by showcasing the research work and facilities. The IFFS, which is affiliated with the World Health Organization (WHO), along with IFS and ISAR will also endeavor for standardising ART practices in India by pushing for the framing of policies and guidelines on ART, including IVF in the country and bringing it under the insurance ambit to make it cost effective for patients.
The theme of the Congress is ‘Reaching to Unreached’ aiming to expand the scope of discussion on latest techniques and training around infertility and allow doctors from far off parts of India to become a part of it.
“All Indian delegates are not capable of attending various international level meetings. Doctors practicing in rural or semi urban area are not able to keep pace with, or are unaware of progress of science and its clinical application. Through IFFS conference many Indians doctors will be benefitted as they will get the chance to interact with super specialists from across the globe. Working with an international body will lead to imbibing the best practices from world over and streamlining of the whole fertility scenario in India,” said Dr Hrishikesh Pai, Organizing Secretary and President of ISAR.
The Congress will stimulate basic and applied research and the dissemination of knowledge in all aspects of reproduction and fertility, and contribute to the standardisation of terminology and evaluation of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures in the field of reproduction. It will also encourage the creation of modules for basic and applied work in the field of reproduction and fertility and increase knowledge in reproduction and fertility by promoting and organizing education and training in collaboration with member societies and other organizations.
The conference will comprise of various sessions, including Key Note addresses, Trilogies sessions, scientific symposia, and 4 workshops where hands on practical training will be given. There will be scientists’ meetings from 8 countries where they will be discussing problems faced in their countries and how they solve problems, including reducing cost of treatment.