32nd HSOG Special Meeting in Volos: add-ons in IVF

Professor Stratis Kolibianakis took part in the 32nd Special Meeting of the Hellenic Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology (HSOG), held in Volos on 19–21 June 2026. During the assisted-reproduction session, on Sunday 21 June, he delivered the talk “Add-ons in IVF – recent evidence”.

Add-ons are supplementary, optional techniques or tests offered in addition to standard IVF treatment, usually at an extra cost and supported by limited or no evidence of effectiveness. The talk argued that the very term “add-on” is itself problematic: it grants interventions of uncertain value the status of an “optional treatment” and distorts both how scientific evidence is interpreted and how clinical practice is shaped.

The proposal put forward is that every diagnostic test and every intervention should be assessed against the same rigorous evidence standards. When solid evidence of benefit exists, the method becomes part of routine clinical practice; when it does not, it should be offered only within a research setting, with full information for couples and at no charge. For most add-ons — such as preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (PGT-A) in the general population, the endometrial receptivity assay (ERA), time-lapse technology, ICSI in the absence of male-factor infertility, or immunological treatments — randomized trials and recent guidelines (NICE, HFEA) show no benefit in the live-birth rate.

The root of the problem, it was noted, is the absence of a regulatory framework for introducing new techniques in assisted reproduction — unlike medicines, which are approved only after their benefit is shown to outweigh their risks. The conclusion: every method should be judged on its scientific merit, not its marketing.