2012: Kyoto

Meeting report from Akiko

Dear colleagues of iCSi

The 11th iCSi conference ended successfully. It was our first conference held outside of European region and was open to public. This open session was made possible through the co-operation of Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto.

The open session was very successful with participants including people who are experiencing infertility, medical professionals, counselors and the media. They well exceeded the expected number of 120 people.

All the presentations were very interesting and educational. They are available for you to view below.

Feedback from the participants was very positive. They wrote:

  • "The session was very enlightening"
  • "It was a great opportunity for me to meet our peer patients from many countries"
  • "I learned a lot about the real situation surrounding fertility issues in foreign countries."

The media - including TV stations, newspapers and magazine publishers - came to cover our sessions.

ASPIRE's iCSi session, in particular, attracted their attention and reported by NHK (Japan's public broadcaster).

More than a hundred people attended and listened to the 90-minute session very intently.

It is a great pleasure and honor for me to have been able to hold such a successful event in Japan as one of the organizers. I would like to congratulate those who supported us to make this conference successful, and also I give applause to the iCSi colleagues who came all the way to Japan.

Akiko Matsumoto, NPO Fine chair, iCSi coordinator

Presentations: iCSI community meeting, Kyoto

The presentations from our Kyoto meeting are available for download below.

iCSi Kyoto-Social media for patient assns (David Rawlings)
iCSi Kyoto-Holistic Care (Debbie Pannowitz)
iCSi Kyoto-Cross BorderCare Europe (Petra Thorn)
iCSi Kyoto-CrossBorderCare Asia (M Matsuo)
iCSi Kyoto-Egg Donation (Estela Chardon)

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4th ASPIRE Congress in Osaka 2 September, 2012

Patient Perspectives on ART: Subjects presented included quality assurance in ART, surrogacy in Australia and Japan, in addition to a paradigm for counselling that puts patient care first. All focussed on placing the patient at the centre of health care and were told from the perspective of the patient.

This session reflected the commitment of the ASPIRE Executive to welcome an ethical partnership with key patient associations. The international iCSi Community is a member of ASPIRE.

In the welcome address by Professor Yoshiharu Morimoto, the retiring President of ASPIRE, he said that patients experiencing infertility suffered considerable stress and burden.

"It is very valuable to have an international symposium not only for patients, but also for all staff relating to reproductive medicine," Professor Morimoto said.

"It is my great pleasure to welcome the iCSi Community, FINE in Japan and AccessAustralia to bring the patient voice to this session of ASPIRE.

"ASPIRE will always give full support for your activities."

The session was open to the public and offered simultaneous translations for the Japanese community. Introducing the session, Sandra Dill spoke to those attending:

"We hope that as you hear some perspectives from other countries you will understand that you do not have to feel alone, as we are all members of an international "family" who understand the disappointment we experience in trying to conceive. We share the hope that the new technologies can help as you strive to realise your dream to have a family".

 

Presentations from the ASPIRE Patient Session are available for download below.

2012 09 ASPIRE intro slides (Japanese)
2012 09 ASPIRE clinic quality (A Matsumoto)
2012 09 ASPIRE surrogacy japan (Y Semba)
2012 09 ASPIRE surrogacy aust (S Dill)
2012 09 ASPIRE counselling (P Thorn) Japanese_English

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Reproductive Health Patient Summit in Osaka, 3,4 September 2012

Kay patient leaders from the Asia Pacific, the Americas, Europe and Africa shared government policy devleopments and patient association challenges to inform and equip planning for future directions of the iCSi community. Special guest speakers included:

Professor Bruno Lunenfeld-History of Gonadatrophins

Professor Julian Jenkins - The Importance of Patient Input to Fertility Product Development

Professor Johan Smitz - The Future of ART

Presentations from the Reproductive Health Summit are available for download below.

Reproductive Health Summit - Rossella Bartolucci
Reproductive Health Summit - Akiko Matsumoto
Reproductive Health Summit - Petra Thorn
Reproductive Health Summit - Rita Sembaya
Reproductive Health Summit - Pip Reilly
Reproductive Health Summit - Estela Chardon
Reproductive Health Summit - Julian Jenkins
Reproductive Health Summit - Sandra Dill
RHS - Johan Smitz