Meet Our Healthcare Scientists - Abi Burchill
11 March 2025
This week is Healthcare Science Week which celebrates the work of our healthcare scientists and their vital contribution to patient care.
Today we meet Abi Burchill - a clinical embryologist at Jessop Fertility.
"My role at Jessop Fertility is to look after all the laboratory aspects of a patient’s assisted conception treatment, right through from analysing sperm samples pre-treatment and advising patients and clinicians on appropriate treatments according to the results, collecting patients eggs, insemination, assessing embryos and then selecting the best one or two for replacement into the womb.
"I was always good at science, and enjoyed learning about the human body and watching medical programmes as a child. At the time Robert Winston was doing TV programmes about IVF and I was fascinated. I did my BSc Biomedical Science at Sheffield and learnt about infertility and IVF/assisted conception. Here was a science job where I was at the cutting-edge of technology and making a difference to people’s lives. I knew then that this was all I wanted to do as a career.
"A typical day starts with checking the eggs and embryos from treatments and updating patients with their results. There may be egg collections or sperm to prepare. Each day there is often embryo thaws and a theatre list of embryo transfers to work through of both thawed and fresh embryos.
"I also freeze sperm, eggs or embryos as needed and we also provide embryo storage for patients who need to find a surrogate to carry the embryo for them. I also prepare donor and partner sperm for simple insemination treatments (IUI). During all these complex laboratory procedures I also will communicate with the patients be it before, during or following treatment to inform them of how things are progressing for them in the lab and help them make decisions about their treatment. I am also actively involved in sperm donor recruitment in the clinic.
"No one day is the same and we are continually learning new technology and intriguing things about the start of human life. I always try my hardest to make our patients’ dreams come true and we treat their eggs, sperm and embryos with the highest respect and care possible. I get an immense sense of satisfaction when things go well for patients."
