Dr. Saiprasad Gundeti, Chief Embryologist, MALPANI INFERTILITY CLINIC PVT. LTD.

I am a Clinical Embryologist and I love my job. Every day, I get to help infertile patients and guide them through the challenging process of IVF, so they can hold their deeply cherished babies. I love using my science background and my spatial skills in performing what is a very demanding and technically exacting hands-on job.

What I do is an essential part of providing IVF services to infertile couples. As part of a multi-disciplinary team, I am involved in collecting the eggs, preparing sperm, checking fertilisation ,growing the embryos, transferring them; as well as freezing and storing them. The services I provide are directly linked to the success of IVF procedures - and how well I do them will determine the success rate of the clinic.

I am privileged, because I have the opportunity to see the joy in patient's eyes, when they see their embryos for themselves ! I also have provide patients with a shoulder to cry on ( for example, when their eggs fail to fertilise) - and I have a ringside view to the entire gamut of human emotions - joy, despair, hope and sorrow - and all this in a single day !

My job never feels like a chore, because every patient is different - and I love getting paid for doing something which I enjoy. I am very skilled at my tasks, and it's great fun to challenge myself to improve my skills on a daily basis ! I really love to enter our IVF LAB everyday - and I say a little prayer and get started.

It is a high to see beautiful embryos blossoming and growing under the loving care and attention I lavish on them - and it's still gives me a high to see life starting fresh daily in the IVF lab.

t is incredibly rewarding to hear from patients after their difficult "two week wait" when they find out that their pregnancy test is positive. They are over the moon - and very grateful and excited. I enjoy being thanked by patients , who appreciate how hard we work to give them a baby.

I love working as part of a team with a very high success rate - and am very pleased when I get commendations from Dr Malpani about the good work that I do.

Many patients come down to our clinic to show off their babies . It is amazing to see them - and to remember that I handled them as budding embryos and nurtured them in our incubator. It is nice to know you have helped someone to have the family they longed for - and that you are a key part of helping continue the cycle of life.

Of course, not all IVF cycles have a happy ending. I have direct contact with infertile couples throughout their treatments, and when a cycle fails, I feel very disappointed because it's hard to see someone's heart breaking. I sometimes have to break bad news, and this can be very difficult to do, because we are dealing with a very vulnerable group of people. I try to do my best to explain the science behind our techniques - and its limitations as well.

Keeping up to date

Embryology is a demanding field scientifically , since the science and technology of IVF advance so rapidly. I update myself by reading the key IVF journals, such as "Human Reproduction" and "Fertility Sterility"; and use online forums and boards to keep in touch with embryologists from all over the world. We need to master new techniques , as things change very quickly in our field. For example, a few years ago, slow freezing was the prefererd technique for cryopreservation , but today it has been completely taken over by "vitrification".

I really love my job and cannot imagine doing anything else. My relationship with our patients is priceless and I am honored that they allow me to help them in such a personal and private part of their life.