Page 8 - FSANZ SPRING -2021

Emerging from COVID hibernation with
After a long gestation, we can look forward with confidence to the FSANZ annual scientific meeting to be held at the International Convention Centre in Sydney from 30 January to 2 February 2022.
The meeting has been deferred twice due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the Society is on track for a long overdue welcome of members to a traditional face-to-face gathering to consider the past, present and future of assisted reproduction.
Because of global travel restrictions, invited international speakers will not be able to attend in person, but they will feature in recorded presentations and be on-line for “live” questions and answers.
Convenor, Professor Michael Chapman, said while it was disappointing that the overseas speakers would not be able to attend in person, the format had allowed for wider virtual participation by global leaders in the field.
“In fact, we have a star-studded cast of international speakers,” he said. “We are also pleased to have received a record number of abstracts and free communication entries.
“Presentations will also be loaded onto the meeting website so people will be able to access them at any time.”
FSANZ Life Member, Professor Robert McLachlan, will deliver the Ian Johnson Memorial Lecture in the opening session. His talk, entitled, Playing the Ball, Not the Market, will be humorous and entertaining, but with some key messages about meeting the expectations of patients.
The opening day will include a presentation by keynote speaker, Professor Johan Smitz from Vrije Universiteit Brussels, Belgium
Angela Lawson will address life and death issues in infertility treatment
on IVM and the outcomes of randomised controlled trials, including a groundbreaking study in Vietnam.
Delegates will be updated on the new ART Predictor Tool and how patients can maximise the benefits from this technology.
A compelling session on surgery and fertility will include a focus on the new concept of uterine transplants and swirling ethical questions about this procedure.
Equally interesting will be presentations on reversing reproductive ageing in terms of what can be achieved now and possibilities into the future with key questions about the commercialisation of new technologies.
The closing keynote session on the Monday afternoon will include an international panel discussing developments in pre- implantation genetic testing, or PGT, within IVF services.
The global effects of coronavirus will be addressed in the opening session on the second day including the impacts of the virus on fertility and pregnancy outlined by Dr Eve Feinberg, a reproductive endocrinology and infertility specialist and member of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine Task Force on COVID-19.
Professor Chapman said the organising committee was also working on a local expert presentation about public health issues relating to COVID-19 and fertility.
Future developments in IVF will be explored including new early embryo imaging techniques, disaster management in the IVF laboratory, artificial intelligence opportunities in assisted reproductive technology (ART) and cancer risks for mothers and babies after ART.
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Johan Smitz will keep delegates abreast of global developments in IVM