Sustainability in the IVF laboratory: recommendations of an expert panel

In the realm of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) like IVF, embracing sustainability and environmental awareness is not just a moral imperative, but a practical necessity.

The high-energy demands and resource-intensive nature of ART procedures mandates a shift towards eco-conscious practices.

To assist this transition, Alpha Scientists in Reproductive Medicine collaborated with the International IVF Initiative and the sustainability non-profit My Green Lab to develop long- and short-term recommendations for making IVF laboratories more sustainable.

An international panel of experts in reproductive medicine, environmental science, architecture, biorepository management, and law convened to discuss several key areas: building a culture of sustainability, implementing green design, using life cycle analysis, managing cryostorage sustainably, understanding and preventing laboratory waste, and assessing the sustainability of IVF industry partners.

As the introduction outlines, the healthcare sector, including IVF labs, significantly contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, making it a major polluter.

However, incorporating sustainability into ART not only aligns with global environmental goals but also promotes the health and wellbeing of future generations.

There is an increasing amount of evidence showing associations between pollutants and changes in the environment, such as microplastics, increased temperatures and air pollution, with both male and female human reproductive health and subsequent subfertility.

By incorporating environmental management systems and sustainability awareness, the ART community can join healthcare’s larger decarbonisation efforts.

The panel’s recommendations offer the first ever practical set of steps towards “Green IVF” that can improve ART’s efficacy and uphold the commitment to “first do no harm” by primarily reducing energy, carbon emissions and waste and subsequently reducing pollutants linked to infertility.

This paper is published in the journal Reproductive BioMedicine Online (RBMO) and intends to promote teamwork across all IVF stakeholders to adopt sustainable practices for the benefit of patients, future generations, and the planet.

The paper can be accessed here.

Giles Palmer is an HCPC registered clinical scientist, ESHRE senior clinical embryologist and director of communications at IVF 2.0.