President's Report

Message from the President

Dear NFS members. It is my pleasure to introduce to all of you the new NFS board. We can all be proud of this board, not only because of the eager beavers you voted inn to take care of the NFS for the next three years, but because of the unique composition of this board. Unique in that all professions working in the field of ART are fully and equally represented.

Meet the NFS board

Each board member has a double function, representing both their country and their profession.

Ida Gisladottir represents the secretarial staff of the Nordic ART clinics and Iceland. She works at the most famous Icelandic IVF clinic in Reykjavik. A clinic that has the best Icelandic results, and the highest pregnancy rate of the Nordic countries. Ida knows the secret.

Anja Häkkinen represents laboratory technicians and Finland. She works at the Felicitas clinic in Helsinki. Finland has shown the world how self-regulation can foster excellent ART practice. If you are not allowed to do something, Anja and our Finish colleagues can show you how it should be done. Anja is the vice-chairman of the board.

Julius Hreinsson represents embryologists and biologists and Sweden. Julius works as embryologist for the ART clinic at Huddinge University Hospital in Stockholm. Julius has earlier worked on the quality control ART guidelines for the NFOG and he is therefore just the man to be entrusted the unenviable task of treasurer for the society.

Øystein Magnus represents the medical profession and Norway. Øystein runs the private Fertilitetssenteret in Oslo, but has his hands full fighting for patient rights after Norwegian authorities suddenly removed all subsidy for ART from 1st January this year.

Bente Skov Iversen represents the nursing profession and Denmark. If you want to be kept on your toes, appoint Bente as secretary for a board. That is precisely what we did.

Johan T Hazekamp represents all of you and all the Nordic countries. He has two major issues on his agenda.

1. Building up a rational media-friendly defence for the work we do, whether it concerns established treatment or new developments. ART has enormous benefits for society but our work is all too often easy game for the media with their frequently simple and populist argumentation.
2. Looking beyond our daily practice, to expose the full meaning of infertility treatment within a society. This is the lesson to be learned from the political onslaught on ART in Norway, one month after the 11th of September.

Apart from the voting members of the board there are an additional two influential "conference" members:

• Anders Boe-Andersen: Danish physician and heading the team responsible for our next conference in Helsingør August 2003. Do not hesitate to contact him if you have constructive suggestions in relation to the next or future conferences. But you better be quick!
• Arne Sunde: Norwegian embryologist responsible for the Lillehammer conference held in January this year, and President elect for Eshre. He is on the board so that we can ensure that he steals all our good ideas for Eshre.

Now that you have met the board

It is up to you to use them. And it is now up to the board to prove that we are an example to be followed.

We are all pleased to meet you.

Johan T Hazekamp
NFS Chairman