Antega South Africa · Learning Videos
Dr Nicholas Clark reviews the extra treatments often offered alongside IVF and asks which of them a patient actually needs.
Add-ons are the optional extras sold alongside standard IVF: embryo glue, assisted hatching, time-lapse imaging, endometrial scratching, endometrial receptivity testing (ERA), PICSI and IMSI sperm selection, and various immune treatments. This talk sets out what each one claims to do and questions how much of it is supported. Antega's position, and the reason we are surfacing it, is that the evidence for most add-ons remains limited, conflicting or insufficient to show they increase the chance of a baby for most patients, and this recording is from 2022 — it is not proof that any add-on works. Time-lapse imaging is mainly a laboratory convenience; endometrial scratching is not supported by the better trials; ERA has not been shown in randomised evidence to improve live birth for most patients; add-on immune treatments carry risks of their own and belong in specialist care or research. Before paying extra, ask what the evidence is for you specifically, what it costs, and what happens if you decline.
Recorded in 2022, so treat every claim in it as a starting point rather than current guidance. Our South Africa add-on guides record where the evidence stands now, add-on by add-on.
Use these guides for general background, and check the South Africa organisations named on this page for local detail.
Time-lapse imaging of a cohort of embryos growing in culture from roughly 18 to 112 hours, filmed in a South African academic IVF laboratory.
Genetic counsellor Kelly Loggenberg explains what preimplantation genetic testing is, the different types and who might be offered it.
Dr Mohamed Cassim goes through the points in an IVF cycle where things can fall short — egg and sperm quality, fertilisation, embryo development, the lining of the womb and implantation.
This video was produced by Fertility Show Africa Expert Talks (programme curated with IFAASA and SASREG) and is shared for education only. It is not medical advice and does not replace guidance from your own doctor or fertility clinic. Naming an organisation does not imply a partnership with Antega.
