Inconsistent oocyte timing fuels staff burnout
BY INSIDE REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH
Inconsistency in oocyte retrieval scheduling continues to pressure fertility clinics as daily caseloads swing unpredictably, placing strain on embryology teams and risking operational efficiency. Lab director, Charlene Alouf, recently voiced a growing frustration, “Unfortunately, sometimes there seems to be a feast or famine trend with retrievals and other daily laboratory duties. I would welcome any technology that provides a more accommodating schedule without any untoward effect on retrieval (mature oocyte yield) or cycle outcome (BUR/PR), even with natural cycle FETs. Scheduling and workflow would be one less stress in our clinics.”
At the heart of the issue is the inability to reliably predict which day will yield optimal egg maturity for retrieval. Without a system to manage this variability, clinics face uneven daily volumes—some days overcrowded, others underutilized. This imbalance intensifies as more programs consolidate operations into centralized labs and operating rooms, amplifying scheduling bottlenecks.
Workload Peaks Threaten Lab Capacity and Clinical Quality
As IVF procedures grow in complexity — driven by trends like expanded PGT, rising use of ICSI, and increased demand for fertility preservation—labs are operating at or near capacity. When high retrieval days coincide with already intensive procedures such as multiple biopsies, staff burnout becomes more than a risk; it becomes inevitable.
Despite attempts to manually adjust retrievals to specific days, many practices find that doing so can compromise oocyte quality. Physicians may push or pull trigger days, but this could potentially jeopardize outcomes. Smaller clinics can sometimes mitigate the pressure by closely coordinating start days between clinical and embryology teams, but such collaboration is harder to scale in larger, multisite operations.
The Lean principle of Heijunka, which emphasizes workload leveling to improve output quality, applies directly here. Fertility labs currently lack tools to implement this effectively, even though other medical settings have used it to reduce wait times and optimize care.
31% Increase In Daily Egg Retrievals
New technology is now offering a data-driven alternative. FertilAI has implemented a predictive scheduling model that analyzes cycle data to identify patients with flexibility in optimal trigger days. This allows for redistributing retrievals from overloaded to underutilized days without compromising oocyte yield.
In clinical simulation, the system demonstrated a reduction in the standard deviation of daily retrievals from 6.45 to 3.44, smoothing workload distribution across the week. This real-time adjustment allows clinics to move toward consistent daily volumes, easing pressure on embryologists and improving lab efficiency.
At one high-volume site, this approach enabled a 31% increase in daily retrievals—rising from an average of 14.7 to 19.25—without additional staffing or infrastructure.
Fewer Weekend Procedures and Higher Staff Retention
One of the most immediate impacts of workload balancing is the reduction of weekend work. Unplanned Saturday and Sunday retrievals have long strained embryology teams, who are already operating on limited weekend staff. By proactively redistributing cycles to weekdays, clinics report lower staff fatigue and improved morale.
Importantly, these changes do not come at the expense of patient outcomes. A 2023 RMBO paper confirmed that smart scheduling solutions, such as the one from FertilAI, when implemented correctly, do not negatively affect egg maturity or fertilization success.