What is SASREG?
SASREG — the Southern African Society of Reproductive Medicine and Gynaecological Endoscopy — is the professional body representing reproductive medicine practitioners in Southern Africa. Among its key functions is the accreditation of fertility clinics, setting quality standards that accredited facilities must maintain.
PTA Fertility Centre is proud to hold SASREG accreditation — a voluntary standard that demonstrates our commitment to quality, transparency, and continuous improvement.
Why Accreditation Matters
Not all fertility clinics in South Africa are accredited. While any registered medical practitioner can technically offer some fertility services, SASREG accreditation provides patients with assurance that a clinic meets defined standards in:
- Laboratory quality — The IVF laboratory is the heart of any fertility clinic. Accreditation ensures incubators, air quality, equipment, and procedures meet standards
- Clinical protocols — Evidence-based treatment protocols and appropriate patient selection
- Staff qualifications — Appropriately qualified and experienced specialists, embryologists, and nursing staff
- Record keeping — Comprehensive documentation of all procedures and outcomes
- Outcome reporting — Mandatory reporting of treatment cycles and success rates
- Patient safety — Protocols for complications, drug storage, identity verification, and consent
- Ethical practice — Adherence to ethical guidelines for gamete donation, surrogacy, and embryo handling
What Gets Audited?
SASREG accreditation involves regular audits covering:
Laboratory Standards
- Air quality (HEPA filtration, volatile organic compound levels)
- Temperature and CO2 control in incubators
- Culture media quality and storage
- Equipment calibration and maintenance records
- Embryologist qualifications and ongoing training
- Witnessing procedures (double-checking patient identity at every step)
- Quality assurance programmes and key performance indicators (KPIs)
Clinical Standards
- Patient consent processes
- Treatment protocols and their evidence base
- Complications reporting and management protocols
- Infection control measures
- Medication management and storage
- Counselling availability and referral pathways
Administrative Standards
- Data collection and outcome reporting
- Complaint handling procedures
- Informed consent documentation
- Gamete and embryo tracking systems
- Storage and disposal consent protocols
- Annual outcome submissions
How to Verify Accreditation
Patients can verify a clinic's SASREG accreditation status by:
- Checking the SASREG website for a list of accredited units
- Asking the clinic directly for their accreditation certificate
- Confirming membership of the clinic's practitioners with SASREG
Be cautious of clinics that claim high success rates but are not SASREG accredited — without external audit, these claims cannot be verified.
SASREG vs International Standards
SASREG accreditation is comparable to international quality frameworks:
- UK: Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) — statutory regulation
- Australia: Reproductive Technology Accreditation Committee (RTAC)
- USA: College of American Pathologists (CAP) laboratory accreditation + Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART) membership
- Europe: ESHRE certification and EU Tissue and Cells Directive compliance
While SASREG is currently voluntary (unlike the UK's HFEA which is statutory), it represents the gold standard for fertility care in South Africa and is the only nationally recognised accreditation specifically for ART units.
What Accreditation Means for Your Treatment
Choosing a SASREG-accredited clinic means:
- Verified outcomes — Success rates have been externally reported and can be benchmarked
- Quality assurance — Systems are in place to catch and prevent errors
- Trained staff — Your eggs, sperm, and embryos are handled by qualified professionals
- Modern laboratory — Equipment and environment meet defined standards
- Ethical practice — The clinic adheres to professional ethical guidelines
- Accountability — The clinic submits to external oversight and regular audit
- Continuous improvement — Accreditation requires ongoing quality improvement, not just meeting a minimum bar
PTA Fertility Centre's Commitment
At PTA Fertility Centre, we view SASREG accreditation not as a badge to display, but as a framework for continuous improvement. We submit our outcome data annually, maintain rigorous laboratory quality systems, invest in staff development, and welcome external scrutiny of our practices.
We believe that every patient deserves to know that their clinic is held to account — and that the best measure of a clinic is not its marketing, but its willingness to be independently audited.
Questions to Ask Any Fertility Clinic
Before choosing a fertility clinic, we recommend asking:
- Are you SASREG accredited? When was your last audit?
- What are your success rates by age group? How are these verified?
- Who are your embryologists and what are their qualifications?
- What quality control measures are in place in your laboratory?
- How do you handle identity verification (witnessing)?
- What happens if something goes wrong? What are your complication rates?
- Do you report your outcomes to any registry?
A clinic that answers these questions openly and confidently is one that takes quality seriously.