When choosing a fertility clinic, you want to feel supported and achieve results quickly. Supportive communication, clear explanations and a treatment plan tailored to your needs all matter. Equally important, however, is what happens behind the laboratory door – an area patients rarely see.

Next Fertility Nordic’s laboratory holds ISO 15189:2022 accreditation in the field of in vitro fertilisation. This means that an independent accreditation body regularly assesses the laboratory’s quality and competence. Next Fertility Nordic undergoes an annual assessment by the Estonian Accreditation Centre (EAK) to review the functioning of the clinic’s quality management system. The routine surveillance assessment held in August this year focused particularly on staff training, confidentiality, patient safety and the laboratory’s participation in proficiency testing.

What is ISO 15189?

ISO 15189 is an international standard that specifies requirements for the quality and competence of medical laboratories. For patients, this means that assessment extends beyond laboratory equipment to include working procedures, the reliability of methods, staff training and the reporting of results.

Accreditation is more than a certificate on the wall. It reflects a systematic approach to how work is carried out, how its quality is monitored and how potential problems are identified and resolved.

What does ISO 15189 mean for patients?

As a patient, you do not need to assess the technical details of laboratory work. What matters is knowing that the laboratory relies on more than good intentions: established procedures, documentation and quality control are in place. These requirements support reliable laboratory work and help reduce avoidable risks.

Strong quality control underpins strong treatment outcomes

Next Fertility Nordic’s quality management system includes regular internal and external audits, participation in proficiency testing, ongoing monitoring of quality indicators, and regular review and continuous improvement of documentation and working processes.

Robust quality control is reflected in the clinic’s strong treatment outcomes. In 2025, clinical pregnancy was achieved in 45% of embryo transfers (n=231). The highest pregnancy rate (64%) was achieved in transfers using a euploid embryo (with a normal number of chromosomes) tested through PGT.

Next Fertility Nordic aims to provide personalised, safe and evidence-based fertility treatment and support you throughout your journey towards starting a family. To us, quality means both caring communication and precise, carefully controlled laboratory work.

1. Care tailored to your needs

We plan investigations and treatment around your individual circumstances. We prioritise clear explanations, informed consent and the protection of your wellbeing, rights and privacy.

2. Safety and traceability at every stage

We aim to ensure the proper handling, storage and traceability of gametes and embryos. We use documented procedures and the RI Witness electronic witnessing system at key laboratory stages.

3. Reliable laboratory work

We continuously monitor laboratory environmental conditions (LoRa Spy sensors), maintain equipment and assess the suitability of methods before introducing them. We monitor the quality of laboratory work through internal and external quality control.

4. Supporting the best possible treatment outcomes

We systematically monitor laboratory performance indicators, including egg fertilisation, embryo development, survival after freezing and thawing, embryo quality and pregnancy outcomes. We use these data to improve our working processes.

5. Ongoing professional development

We support continuing professional development and regularly assess laboratory staff competence to ensure that working practices keep pace with developments in the field.

6. Learning from your feedback

We collect and analyse patient feedback and treat complaints and nonconformities as opportunities to improve our service. We aim to identify problems, establish their causes and reduce the risk of recurrence.

7. Measurable quality and continuous improvement

We regularly evaluate progress towards our quality objectives using quality indicators, internal audits and management reviews. The laboratory’s management system is based on the requirements of ISO 15189:2022 and applicable legislation.

Next Fertility Nordic’s scope of accreditation covers:

• assessment of sperm concentration, motility and morphology;
• assessment of egg maturity;
• assessment of fertilised eggs, or zygotes;
• assessment of embryo development on days 2–6.