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Certification in the American Embryo Transfer Association
THERIOGENOLOGY CERTIFICATION IN 'WE AWERICANEMBRYO TffANSFERASSOCIATION
RobertBaker SelectEmbryos,Inc. llS55U.S. 42 Plain City, Ohio 43064 and James Webb
Em Tran-West, Inc. 323 Lander Avenue 'furlook,California 95380
ABSTRACT
Certificationin the AmericanEmbryo TransferAssociation(AETA) is a voluntary program available to all eomu?rcial earbryo transferbU8ineSSe6(ETB)operatingin the United State8. As of August i989, 46 regular AETA member companies vcre certified. Certificationinvolveda three step process. The ETB agreed that 1) they would aeet or exceed the requirement8 for oertification 8et forth by AETA, 2) they would employ at least. oa@ qualified individualwho ha8 sucm?cPsfully completed the AETA certification cxaainstion and rho perform8or supervisese8bryocollectionand processing and 3) they vould agree ta an on-siteinopsotion of the ETB's facilitiesand non-financialrecords. Exaainations of professional staff selected by the ETE'S began in ilotober1985 and were offeredtvice annuaily. Candidatesvere exaainedfor competence by three examiners in each of six areas, i.e. reoordkeeptng, superovulation, embryo recovery,embryo handling and transfer*embryo freezing and pregnancydlagnoSi8. During the first year of the program, 59 ETB‘E vere %ligLbie for certification, in that one or more of theirpractitioner8passed the examination. Practitioners aust take the exa8inationevery three years to maintaineligibility. On-site inspection8of ETB facilities and nan-financial records Due to location of ETB's, tine began in February 1989. availabilityand costs, this step vii1 take two to three years to complete. The goal of the AETA is that alf r%gular AETA members,especially those involved in export, will met or exceed the standardsoutlined xn the certification program. Keyvords: Embryo transfer, cattle, certification. ___________q_________I_I__
Acknovledgments: The authorsvould Like to thank Don Ellerbee,Chief
Administrative Officer of the American Enbryo TranSfer Association for his assistance in prepsring this paper. Apprecietion is expressedto Debbie Bethelfor typing the
manuscript.
JANUARY 1930 VOL. 33 NO. 1
THERIOGENOLOGY OR March 28, 1981 a group of 30 practitioner8 from 19 embryo transfer (E.T.f companies operating in the United States met in San Antonio, Texas to discus8 the organization of a trade association. The proposed objective8 of the a88ociation were 1) to unite the businesses into an association operating under self imposed standards of performance and conduct, 2) to present a unified voice to deal vith U.S. and foreign governmental agencies and 31 to educate the public on the 8tatue and cap&&iiities of the U.S. embryo tranrtferindustry. A6 a result of this initial meeting the American Embryo Transfer As6ociation (AETA) ua8 concefved. limited to AETA ras Regular voti.ng membership in the organizations (buoinesses or individual81 actively engaged in commercial E.T. and dues were based on the number of transfer8 performed. Individual8 or busine88es involved in related areas such as breed ae6ociation6, universities, equip6ent suppliers etc. 7ere invited to join as nonvoting associate me6bers. A concern of early AETA membership was to be supportive of the International Embryo Transfer Society (IRTS) in it8 efforts to Both promote research and to disseminate scientific information. organizations recognized one another and have 8upport@d the In many vays both the AETA and the Canadian other8 progress. Embryo Transfer Aesociation fCETAf were outgrovths of the IETS. With very few exoeptions member8 of the AETA and the CETA vere and etill arm members of IETS. The first annual meeting of the AETA vas held in Denver following the 1982 6nnual conference of In order to conduct a full aeeting and not distract the IETS. from IETS busines6, AETA moved its meeting6 to the month of The location of the meeting6 and the presiding October. president6 are shovn in Table 1.
Table 1. Locations of and President6 at Annual AETA Meetings YEAR --__
LOCATION --___cI_
1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990
Columbus, OH Lake Ozark,
PRESIDENT -________ !40
Louisville, KY Fort Worth, TX Orlando, FL Reno, NV Nashville, TN tladison,WI
Robert Baker Richard Carmicheal Joseph I(a88ey Tye Henschen Joe Peeples Etaniey Coley Joe Oden Edwin Robertson
The fir& fev annual meetings were concerned primarily vith attracting membersh5.p and vith developing program6 that would help unite otherviss competitive ETB's. The ET%'8 learned to work together and to define common goals. Since membership in not be AETA vas voluntary, standards of performance could required. Thus, a program of certification was established for the ETBs that met Self-inposed AETA standards. Emphasis vas placed on embryo handling and washing for control of disease as outlined in the IETS manual (If. The AETA Board established the right to deny or vithdraw certification when standards vere not
60
JANUARY 1990 VOL. 33 NO. 1
maintained. The certification committee developed teeting procedures and evaluated the performance of practitioners selected by the ETBs that applied for certification. Both authors of this paper Served as members of AETA’s Certification Committee. EXAMINATION OF
ETE PRACTITIONERS
The first certification examination was given on October 23, 1985. In order for a practitioner to be examined, the ETB had 1) to be in business a minimum of twelve months, 2) to have performed a minimum of 250 transfers during the prwfous 12 months, 3) to pay a certification fee and 4) to have on it8 staff *the candidate* uho held a Doctor of Veterinary tledicine1DVI) or other equivalent veterinary degree or a Ph.D. in animal reproductive physiology. The candidate was asked to supply a completed set of technical records used by the ETB prior to the examination. The examination vas given in two parts, written and oral. The vritten examination was primarily concerned with procedural questions on 1) how donors were superovulated, 2) how equipment and media were prepared for recovery, 3) hov recipients rere synchronized and 4) hor embyros were handled between recovery and transfer. A total of 54 candidates representing 51 ET38 took the first oral exams. The examination8 mere given by one of two panel8 composed of three examiners. One member of each panel was a 8enior staff member from a leading university. The other two panel members were AMA members selected by the certification committee The oral examinations were complicated by the fact that the AETA Board required that each candidate be examined for comprrtencein six areas, i.e. recordkeeping, superovulation, embryo recovery, embryo handling, embryo freezing and pregnancy ltranefer to calving). Examiners xere asked to prepare a list of question8 in each Of the six areas and each candidate was asked at least two questions To successfully complete the examination the from each area. candidate had to receive pa88ing marks from two of the the three Even though not all cwdidates examiners in all six areas. passed, all but one ETB had one or more practitioners that passed resulting in 51 ETBs being eligible for certification. (2) The same type of written and oral examination was given on March 15, 1986 to one candidate who failed in Dctober and eight new candidates representing 7 ETBs. Again not all candidates passed but all ETB's had one practitioner that passed resulting in a total of 5'3 ETBs being eligible for certification during the first year of the program. As expected the overall BUCCELBG: rate of practitioner8 taking the certification examination the first year of the program was high. The candidates were experienced, motivated, well prepared and serious about the testing procedures. The majority (over 75%) had been doing commercial LT. for more than six years. In April 1986 examination and
JANUARY
the certification committee reviewed the grading procedures used the first year.
199OVOL. 33 NO. 1
THERIOGENOLOGY indicated that their job had been demanding and informative. Concern ma6 expressed that the high sUccess rate might be viewed as a reluctance to fail fellov AETA member6. However, the test results shoved that the AETA examiner6 rere at Examiner6
least as demanding a6 the evidence of favoriti6m.
university
examiners.
There vas
no
From October 1986 to October 1988 six practitioner6 took the certification examination. Due to the relatively smell number of candidates tested at any one time the format ra6 changed. The
oral component v&s dropped and the vritten exarinntion va6 expanded to include detailed questions gn recordkeeping, superovulation, recovery embryo handling, freezing and pregnancy. The examination 186 designed to take epproxiaately three hours. The candidate6 had to Score a minimum of seventy percent (70%) by two of three examiners in each of the six areas. All three examiners vere AETA members. In October 1988, at Rena, the majority (75%) of candidates taking the certification examination vere practitioners rho had taken the examination in 1985. The format of this examination ua6 different in that a video tape rather than photograph6 ~6s wed to judge embryo morphology and quality. The video wa6 prepared by Dr. Joe Wright, Genetics Ranagement Services, Caetroville, Texas. Of the 37 practitioners te8ted, 32 pa66ed. No one failed the embryo video section of the examination. Six practitioners 6cored more than 90% overall on the exam and 23 practitioners (64%) scored over 80% overall on the exam. Thus, our industry appears to be in good hands. The Certification Committee received AETA Board approval to send letter6 of congratulation8 to the practitioners that score more than 80 percent. Four of the five candidate6 rho failed vere practitioners being reexamined, and four of five rere failed by all three examiners in both the embryo recovery 6nd embryo freezing rm?atione of the examination. The practitioners rho failed this exoainetion were offered an opportunity to take another eX6ls in January 1989. ON-SITE INSPECTIOR OF ETBs On-site inspection of ETB facifitie6 and non-financial records began in February 1989. The certification committee prepared a detailed questionnaire thst was used during each site visit. The visatAng team vas composed of the Chief Adminstrative Officer of the AETA and a senior practitioner from a certified ETB outside the area visited. To minimize cost, the U.S. we6 divided into 10 regions and then all eligible ET&a in the respective region verr visited during a single trip. Each ETB was contacted prior to the visit to insure that the senior to meet with the visiting team.
practitioner
vas available
During the site viait the inspection team observed the general appearance of the ETB QrOUnd6, buildings, laboratories, offices, mobile labs, embryo storage area, etc. If the ETB housed donors and recipients, condition6 of the animals, barns feed supplies,
recovery area. chutes, and
semen
storage, vere evaluated.
The inspection team met rith the technical staff involved in the day-to-day operation of the ETB to evaluate attitude6 and vorking
JANUARY 799OVOL. 33 NO. 1
THERIOGENOLOGY
conditions. The specific methods observed or discussed with practitionerfs) and technical staff are show in table 2.
the
Table 2. tlethodsobserved or discussed vlth ETB staff during on-site inspection.
____________________~~~~~~~~~~~~ _____ FSH preparation Superovulation Media preparation Equipment sterilization Nedia filtration Recovery Embryo searching Embryo evaluation Embryo washing
Freering'procedures Container labeling Seeding Thawing procedures Recipient handling Recipient selection Transfer procedures Pregnancy diagnosis
poor or If any of the above methods rere evaluated as unsatiefactory the visiting teams asked for some explanation from the practitioner in-charge. A major part of each site visit was concerned with the quantity and quality of nonfinancial records kept by the ETB. Were the records adequate to assure the correct identity of each embryo processed? Was the ETB using the procedures recommended by IETS and AETA for labelling embryo freezing containers and for classifying embryo development and quality? When records were not adequate the inspecting teams recorded hoe and uhy. At the end of each site visit the inspecting team prepared recommendations for the AETA Board. Only the Board of Directors of the AETA had the authority to withdraw certification. The inspection team had the option to recommend one of the following 1) approval uithout change, 2) approval rith suggested changes, 3) probation and revisit and 4) rithdrawal of certification. Results of the site visit and recommendations to the Board uere handled with full confidentially. DISCUSSIOR Implementation of the AETA certification program was a learning No other program Involved e larger for many. percentage of the membership. Nueerour meetings and discussions vere held before and after the first examination. At that time AETA had 100 regular members and 59% had practitioners tested the first year of the program. experience
It Initially there vas some prestige in being certified. identified an ETB as one that had met the standards set forth, point of and it appeared to be a good investaent from a business However, most ETBs that expected to get several new viev. clients as a result of being certified were disppointed. Few cattlemen were aware of the AETA certification program. noat breeders selected an ETB because they were local or beGauge a friend or neighbor had good results rith a particular company. As
JANUARY
early
as 1986
1990 VOL. 33 NO. 1
the
AETA purchased advertisements in breed 63
THERIOGENOLOGY journals in an attempt to inform potential clients that the E.T. industry had a certification program and that they BB breeders had a choice in the type of E.T. company they used. Havever, not guarantee success and the lack of being certified did certification did not indicate failure. There are a number of competent practitioners in the U.S. doing E.T. that are not members of AETA. To date, AETA's minimal advertising budget may have done mare to attract new AETA membership than to attract nev clients for the certified ETB. Regular membership in AETA increased to an all time high of 139 as of August 1989, Several new membere iaditated an avarenese of the certification plus a desire to be certified. However, the number of certified ETBs decreased from a high of 59 in 1288 to 46 fn 1989. Host ETBs that dropped certification indicated that the benefits simply did not offset the costs. Certification was an expensive program. Prior to 1987 a portion of the fees certification vere used to collected for support regular membership. The AETA vas a relatively small associaton and needed to attract membership. Recently a director stated, "There is no fat to trim out of the AETA budget--it has been done.' (3) It takes lots of money to achieve AETA goals. In order to obtain the money, the AETA needs to increase both regular aerbership and the number of members that are certified. Is the certification program doing the job that it was intended 'Certification standards are tough enough now ta serve to do? their purpose: to gfve a prospective client direction for choosing an E.T. company to lessen the chances of financial disaster by less accomplished E.T. practitioners* (3). Also, the certification prograe appears to be a factor in attracting regular membership. But in the long term, certification must be cost effective for the ETB. It appears that some substantial benefits may be realized by the AETA certification program in the near future. Certification vas an important factor in the AETA's being avarded cooperator status rith Foreign Agriculture Services. Cooperator status provides AETA vith financial assistance from USDA in developing export markets for embryos. Presumably, new export markets xi11 be of direct benefit to ET&m that supported certification. An AETA
delegation recently visited Australia, New Zealand and Japan as a result of the cooperator status. other trips are planned to South America and there are countries
the Southeastern
Pacific
rim.
In
addition
that are considering making it a requirement that embryos coming into their country from the U.S. be collected and processed by an AETA certified ETB. In summary, guidelines and standards for certification were developed over a period of years by the successful E.T. practitioners involved in AETA leadership. To be certified the company must have an experienced professional uho has passed each area of a detailed examination on the major aspects of embryo transfer. The addition of the on-site inspection has further validated the program in that the professional and other staff and premises are evaluated in a vorking situation. Although these inspections are costly and time conrsuming,AETA leadership feela they arc vital to making a credible program.
64
JANUARY 1990 VOL. 33 NO. 1
THERIOGENOLOGY
REFERENCES
JANUARY
1.
Manual of the International Embryo Transfer Society: A procedural guideline and general information for the use of embryo transfer technology emphasizing sanitary procedures. Published by IETS. hay (1987).
2.
Baker, R.D. Unpublished Minutes Committee. (1989).
3.
Stroud, E.K. Advantages of Transfer 4:4-S. (1989).
1990 VOL. 33 NO. 1
of
AETA
Certification
AETA Certification.
Embryo
65
RobertBaker SelectEmbryos,Inc. llS55U.S. 42 Plain City, Ohio 43064 and James Webb
Em Tran-West, Inc. 323 Lander Avenue 'furlook,California 95380
ABSTRACT
Certificationin the AmericanEmbryo TransferAssociation(AETA) is a voluntary program available to all eomu?rcial earbryo transferbU8ineSSe6(ETB)operatingin the United State8. As of August i989, 46 regular AETA member companies vcre certified. Certificationinvolveda three step process. The ETB agreed that 1) they would aeet or exceed the requirement8 for oertification 8et forth by AETA, 2) they would employ at least. oa@ qualified individualwho ha8 sucm?cPsfully completed the AETA certification cxaainstion and rho perform8or supervisese8bryocollectionand processing and 3) they vould agree ta an on-siteinopsotion of the ETB's facilitiesand non-financialrecords. Exaainations of professional staff selected by the ETE'S began in ilotober1985 and were offeredtvice annuaily. Candidatesvere exaainedfor competence by three examiners in each of six areas, i.e. reoordkeeptng, superovulation, embryo recovery,embryo handling and transfer*embryo freezing and pregnancydlagnoSi8. During the first year of the program, 59 ETB‘E vere %ligLbie for certification, in that one or more of theirpractitioner8passed the examination. Practitioners aust take the exa8inationevery three years to maintaineligibility. On-site inspection8of ETB facilities and nan-financial records Due to location of ETB's, tine began in February 1989. availabilityand costs, this step vii1 take two to three years to complete. The goal of the AETA is that alf r%gular AETA members,especially those involved in export, will met or exceed the standardsoutlined xn the certification program. Keyvords: Embryo transfer, cattle, certification. ___________q_________I_I__
Acknovledgments: The authorsvould Like to thank Don Ellerbee,Chief
Administrative Officer of the American Enbryo TranSfer Association for his assistance in prepsring this paper. Apprecietion is expressedto Debbie Bethelfor typing the
manuscript.
JANUARY 1930 VOL. 33 NO. 1
THERIOGENOLOGY OR March 28, 1981 a group of 30 practitioner8 from 19 embryo transfer (E.T.f companies operating in the United States met in San Antonio, Texas to discus8 the organization of a trade association. The proposed objective8 of the a88ociation were 1) to unite the businesses into an association operating under self imposed standards of performance and conduct, 2) to present a unified voice to deal vith U.S. and foreign governmental agencies and 31 to educate the public on the 8tatue and cap&&iiities of the U.S. embryo tranrtferindustry. A6 a result of this initial meeting the American Embryo Transfer As6ociation (AETA) ua8 concefved. limited to AETA ras Regular voti.ng membership in the organizations (buoinesses or individual81 actively engaged in commercial E.T. and dues were based on the number of transfer8 performed. Individual8 or busine88es involved in related areas such as breed ae6ociation6, universities, equip6ent suppliers etc. 7ere invited to join as nonvoting associate me6bers. A concern of early AETA membership was to be supportive of the International Embryo Transfer Society (IRTS) in it8 efforts to Both promote research and to disseminate scientific information. organizations recognized one another and have 8upport@d the In many vays both the AETA and the Canadian other8 progress. Embryo Transfer Aesociation fCETAf were outgrovths of the IETS. With very few exoeptions member8 of the AETA and the CETA vere and etill arm members of IETS. The first annual meeting of the AETA vas held in Denver following the 1982 6nnual conference of In order to conduct a full aeeting and not distract the IETS. from IETS busines6, AETA moved its meeting6 to the month of The location of the meeting6 and the presiding October. president6 are shovn in Table 1.
Table 1. Locations of and President6 at Annual AETA Meetings YEAR --__
LOCATION --___cI_
1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990
Columbus, OH Lake Ozark,
PRESIDENT -________ !40
Louisville, KY Fort Worth, TX Orlando, FL Reno, NV Nashville, TN tladison,WI
Robert Baker Richard Carmicheal Joseph I(a88ey Tye Henschen Joe Peeples Etaniey Coley Joe Oden Edwin Robertson
The fir& fev annual meetings were concerned primarily vith attracting membersh5.p and vith developing program6 that would help unite otherviss competitive ETB's. The ET%'8 learned to work together and to define common goals. Since membership in not be AETA vas voluntary, standards of performance could required. Thus, a program of certification was established for the ETBs that met Self-inposed AETA standards. Emphasis vas placed on embryo handling and washing for control of disease as outlined in the IETS manual (If. The AETA Board established the right to deny or vithdraw certification when standards vere not
60
JANUARY 1990 VOL. 33 NO. 1
maintained. The certification committee developed teeting procedures and evaluated the performance of practitioners selected by the ETBs that applied for certification. Both authors of this paper Served as members of AETA’s Certification Committee. EXAMINATION OF
ETE PRACTITIONERS
The first certification examination was given on October 23, 1985. In order for a practitioner to be examined, the ETB had 1) to be in business a minimum of twelve months, 2) to have performed a minimum of 250 transfers during the prwfous 12 months, 3) to pay a certification fee and 4) to have on it8 staff *the candidate* uho held a Doctor of Veterinary tledicine1DVI) or other equivalent veterinary degree or a Ph.D. in animal reproductive physiology. The candidate was asked to supply a completed set of technical records used by the ETB prior to the examination. The examination vas given in two parts, written and oral. The vritten examination was primarily concerned with procedural questions on 1) how donors were superovulated, 2) how equipment and media were prepared for recovery, 3) hov recipients rere synchronized and 4) hor embyros were handled between recovery and transfer. A total of 54 candidates representing 51 ET38 took the first oral exams. The examination8 mere given by one of two panel8 composed of three examiners. One member of each panel was a 8enior staff member from a leading university. The other two panel members were AMA members selected by the certification committee The oral examinations were complicated by the fact that the AETA Board required that each candidate be examined for comprrtencein six areas, i.e. recordkeeping, superovulation, embryo recovery, embryo handling, embryo freezing and pregnancy ltranefer to calving). Examiners xere asked to prepare a list of question8 in each Of the six areas and each candidate was asked at least two questions To successfully complete the examination the from each area. candidate had to receive pa88ing marks from two of the the three Even though not all cwdidates examiners in all six areas. passed, all but one ETB had one or more practitioners that passed resulting in 51 ETBs being eligible for certification. (2) The same type of written and oral examination was given on March 15, 1986 to one candidate who failed in Dctober and eight new candidates representing 7 ETBs. Again not all candidates passed but all ETB's had one practitioner that passed resulting in a total of 5'3 ETBs being eligible for certification during the first year of the program. As expected the overall BUCCELBG: rate of practitioner8 taking the certification examination the first year of the program was high. The candidates were experienced, motivated, well prepared and serious about the testing procedures. The majority (over 75%) had been doing commercial LT. for more than six years. In April 1986 examination and
JANUARY
the certification committee reviewed the grading procedures used the first year.
199OVOL. 33 NO. 1
THERIOGENOLOGY indicated that their job had been demanding and informative. Concern ma6 expressed that the high sUccess rate might be viewed as a reluctance to fail fellov AETA member6. However, the test results shoved that the AETA examiner6 rere at Examiner6
least as demanding a6 the evidence of favoriti6m.
university
examiners.
There vas
no
From October 1986 to October 1988 six practitioner6 took the certification examination. Due to the relatively smell number of candidates tested at any one time the format ra6 changed. The
oral component v&s dropped and the vritten exarinntion va6 expanded to include detailed questions gn recordkeeping, superovulation, recovery embryo handling, freezing and pregnancy. The examination 186 designed to take epproxiaately three hours. The candidate6 had to Score a minimum of seventy percent (70%) by two of three examiners in each of the six areas. All three examiners vere AETA members. In October 1988, at Rena, the majority (75%) of candidates taking the certification examination vere practitioners rho had taken the examination in 1985. The format of this examination ua6 different in that a video tape rather than photograph6 ~6s wed to judge embryo morphology and quality. The video wa6 prepared by Dr. Joe Wright, Genetics Ranagement Services, Caetroville, Texas. Of the 37 practitioners te8ted, 32 pa66ed. No one failed the embryo video section of the examination. Six practitioners 6cored more than 90% overall on the exam and 23 practitioners (64%) scored over 80% overall on the exam. Thus, our industry appears to be in good hands. The Certification Committee received AETA Board approval to send letter6 of congratulation8 to the practitioners that score more than 80 percent. Four of the five candidate6 rho failed vere practitioners being reexamined, and four of five rere failed by all three examiners in both the embryo recovery 6nd embryo freezing rm?atione of the examination. The practitioners rho failed this exoainetion were offered an opportunity to take another eX6ls in January 1989. ON-SITE INSPECTIOR OF ETBs On-site inspection of ETB facifitie6 and non-financial records began in February 1989. The certification committee prepared a detailed questionnaire thst was used during each site visit. The visatAng team vas composed of the Chief Adminstrative Officer of the AETA and a senior practitioner from a certified ETB outside the area visited. To minimize cost, the U.S. we6 divided into 10 regions and then all eligible ET&a in the respective region verr visited during a single trip. Each ETB was contacted prior to the visit to insure that the senior to meet with the visiting team.
practitioner
vas available
During the site viait the inspection team observed the general appearance of the ETB QrOUnd6, buildings, laboratories, offices, mobile labs, embryo storage area, etc. If the ETB housed donors and recipients, condition6 of the animals, barns feed supplies,
recovery area. chutes, and
semen
storage, vere evaluated.
The inspection team met rith the technical staff involved in the day-to-day operation of the ETB to evaluate attitude6 and vorking
JANUARY 799OVOL. 33 NO. 1
THERIOGENOLOGY
conditions. The specific methods observed or discussed with practitionerfs) and technical staff are show in table 2.
the
Table 2. tlethodsobserved or discussed vlth ETB staff during on-site inspection.
____________________~~~~~~~~~~~~ _____ FSH preparation Superovulation Media preparation Equipment sterilization Nedia filtration Recovery Embryo searching Embryo evaluation Embryo washing
Freering'procedures Container labeling Seeding Thawing procedures Recipient handling Recipient selection Transfer procedures Pregnancy diagnosis
poor or If any of the above methods rere evaluated as unsatiefactory the visiting teams asked for some explanation from the practitioner in-charge. A major part of each site visit was concerned with the quantity and quality of nonfinancial records kept by the ETB. Were the records adequate to assure the correct identity of each embryo processed? Was the ETB using the procedures recommended by IETS and AETA for labelling embryo freezing containers and for classifying embryo development and quality? When records were not adequate the inspecting teams recorded hoe and uhy. At the end of each site visit the inspecting team prepared recommendations for the AETA Board. Only the Board of Directors of the AETA had the authority to withdraw certification. The inspection team had the option to recommend one of the following 1) approval uithout change, 2) approval rith suggested changes, 3) probation and revisit and 4) rithdrawal of certification. Results of the site visit and recommendations to the Board uere handled with full confidentially. DISCUSSIOR Implementation of the AETA certification program was a learning No other program Involved e larger for many. percentage of the membership. Nueerour meetings and discussions vere held before and after the first examination. At that time AETA had 100 regular members and 59% had practitioners tested the first year of the program. experience
It Initially there vas some prestige in being certified. identified an ETB as one that had met the standards set forth, point of and it appeared to be a good investaent from a business However, most ETBs that expected to get several new viev. clients as a result of being certified were disppointed. Few cattlemen were aware of the AETA certification program. noat breeders selected an ETB because they were local or beGauge a friend or neighbor had good results rith a particular company. As
JANUARY
early
as 1986
1990 VOL. 33 NO. 1
the
AETA purchased advertisements in breed 63
THERIOGENOLOGY journals in an attempt to inform potential clients that the E.T. industry had a certification program and that they BB breeders had a choice in the type of E.T. company they used. Havever, not guarantee success and the lack of being certified did certification did not indicate failure. There are a number of competent practitioners in the U.S. doing E.T. that are not members of AETA. To date, AETA's minimal advertising budget may have done mare to attract new AETA membership than to attract nev clients for the certified ETB. Regular membership in AETA increased to an all time high of 139 as of August 1989, Several new membere iaditated an avarenese of the certification plus a desire to be certified. However, the number of certified ETBs decreased from a high of 59 in 1288 to 46 fn 1989. Host ETBs that dropped certification indicated that the benefits simply did not offset the costs. Certification was an expensive program. Prior to 1987 a portion of the fees certification vere used to collected for support regular membership. The AETA vas a relatively small associaton and needed to attract membership. Recently a director stated, "There is no fat to trim out of the AETA budget--it has been done.' (3) It takes lots of money to achieve AETA goals. In order to obtain the money, the AETA needs to increase both regular aerbership and the number of members that are certified. Is the certification program doing the job that it was intended 'Certification standards are tough enough now ta serve to do? their purpose: to gfve a prospective client direction for choosing an E.T. company to lessen the chances of financial disaster by less accomplished E.T. practitioners* (3). Also, the certification prograe appears to be a factor in attracting regular membership. But in the long term, certification must be cost effective for the ETB. It appears that some substantial benefits may be realized by the AETA certification program in the near future. Certification vas an important factor in the AETA's being avarded cooperator status rith Foreign Agriculture Services. Cooperator status provides AETA vith financial assistance from USDA in developing export markets for embryos. Presumably, new export markets xi11 be of direct benefit to ET&m that supported certification. An AETA
delegation recently visited Australia, New Zealand and Japan as a result of the cooperator status. other trips are planned to South America and there are countries
the Southeastern
Pacific
rim.
In
addition
that are considering making it a requirement that embryos coming into their country from the U.S. be collected and processed by an AETA certified ETB. In summary, guidelines and standards for certification were developed over a period of years by the successful E.T. practitioners involved in AETA leadership. To be certified the company must have an experienced professional uho has passed each area of a detailed examination on the major aspects of embryo transfer. The addition of the on-site inspection has further validated the program in that the professional and other staff and premises are evaluated in a vorking situation. Although these inspections are costly and time conrsuming,AETA leadership feela they arc vital to making a credible program.
64
JANUARY 1990 VOL. 33 NO. 1
THERIOGENOLOGY
REFERENCES
JANUARY
1.
Manual of the International Embryo Transfer Society: A procedural guideline and general information for the use of embryo transfer technology emphasizing sanitary procedures. Published by IETS. hay (1987).
2.
Baker, R.D. Unpublished Minutes Committee. (1989).
3.
Stroud, E.K. Advantages of Transfer 4:4-S. (1989).
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