IVF Store has released two new educational resources designed to help IVF laboratories strengthen their procedures, staff training and competency documentation.

The resources—an extensive IVF laboratory procedure manual and a clinical training and sign-off manual—are available free of charge and have been reviewed by IVF Store’s Scientific Advisory Board.

IVF Laboratory Procedure Manual

The new IVF Laboratory Procedure Manual provides laboratories with a detailed framework for documenting everyday embryology and andrology operations.

Its coverage includes:

Patient and specimen identification, labeling and witnessing

Laboratory preparation and recordkeeping

Semen assessment, preparation and cryopreservation

Oocyte retrieval and handling

Conventional insemination and ICSI

Embryo culture, grading, biopsy and transfer

Vitrification, warming and cryostorage

Quality control and equipment maintenance

Air quality and VOC monitoring

Staff training, competency and document control

The manual draws on recommendations from organizations including ASRM, ESHRE and Alpha Scientists in Reproductive Medicine. It is structured as an educational template that laboratories can adapt by adding their own validated parameters, equipment instructions, responsibilities, forms and approval processes.

Clinical IVF Training and Sign-Off Manual

The accompanying Clinical IVF Training and Sign-Off Manual is designed to support structured staff development and competency assessment.

It gives laboratory leaders and trainers a practical framework for recording observation, supervised practice, competency evaluation and authorization for independent work. Used alongside a laboratory’s procedures, the resource can help make training expectations clearer and create a more consistent, traceable sign-off process.

This may be particularly useful when onboarding new embryologists and andrologists, introducing new techniques or documenting continued competency within an established team.

A Starting Point for Local Adoption

Both resources are intended as adaptable educational templates rather than ready-made replacements for a laboratory’s controlled documents. Each laboratory remains responsible for reviewing and validating its procedures, incorporating site-specific requirements and complying with applicable regulations, accreditation standards, manufacturers’ instructions and institutional policies.

For laboratories developing new documentation—or reviewing and harmonizing existing systems—the manuals offer a valuable starting point and a practical reference for discussion among laboratory directors, quality managers, trainers and technical staff.

Explore the resources:

IVF Laboratory Procedure Manual

Clinical IVF Training and Sign-Off Manual