We hope that the preceding chapters will have provided sufficient background and introduction to the tools and techniques used in Quality Management and Risk Management to allow any IVF Lab Director to embark upon the road towards creating the best lab in the world. This is not a facetious remark because everyone has access to the same protocols, equipment, techniques, plasticware, culture media, etc, as anyone else – so why shouldn't any lab, anywhere, have the same opportunity to be as good as any other?

But why would we want to expend what is, unarguably, a huge amount of effort, on changing the nice comfortable lab that we've been running for n years into one that will require us to spend a not inconsiderable amount of time monitoring and dealing with all the QC/QA issues, document control, etc? To our minds, the explanation can be summed up as:

1. (a) being professional: the need always to do one's best and adhere to the principle of primum non nocere; and

2. the advantages: better results, less risks, higher morale and confidence.

(b) For those working in the private sector, the commercial advantage of improved success rates must then also be factored into the equation.

What does it take?

To develop a quality lab that achieves the highest success rates and minimizes its risks requires a broad spectrum of resources, a shortfall in any one of which can cause the whole endeavour to fail.

1. For any organization to be able to change, there is an absolute need for “slack” (DeMarco, 2001). Insufficient slack will compromise the availability of vital human resources and the stress on the morale of critical personnel will destroy their commitment to the process of change.

2. […]