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Sidra Medicine is using advanced genetic research and multidisciplinary medical teams to investigate complex fertility cases, including those where conventional tests have failed to identify the cause, Dr Johnny Awwad, executive chair of Women’s Services and division chief of Reproductive Medicine at Sidra Medicine, said during a Science Café 2026 session in Doha on Monday, November 9.The session, titled “Health and Future Generations: Your Guide to Fertility”, was organised by Sidra Medicine in partnership with Msheireb Museums at Bin Jelmood House in Msheireb Downtown Doha.Dr Awwad explained how the hospital combines fertility treatment with scientific research to investigate challenging cases and explore possible treatment options.“We have a very close collaboration with our research facility,” he said, highlighting the importance of connecting clinical care with advanced scientific studies.He explained that Sidra Medicine conducts advanced genomic studies and sequencing to investigate fertility problems that remain unexplained after conventional medical assessments.“What we do is that we do advanced genomic studies and sequencing itself,” Dr Awwad said.According to Dr Awwad, multidisciplinary teams review complex fertility cases, bringing together reproductive medicine specialists, researchers and laboratory experts.These teams examine patients’ medical histories and test results to determine whether further investigations could help identify the underlying causes of infertility.He said researchers may recommend specialised tests that are not available in commercial laboratories when standard investigations fail to provide clear answers.“And sometimes we get an answer that has a treatment today. Sometimes an answer that has a treatment tomorrow,” he said.Dr Awwad also highlighted the role of embryologists, physicians and specialised nurses in providing fertility care.He explained that treatment plans take into account patients’ medical histories, individual needs and personal circumstances.The presentation covered assisted reproductive technologies, including in vitro fertilisation (IVF), in which eggs and sperm are brought together outside the body.Dr Awwad also discussed a procedure in which sperm is injected directly into an egg, particularly in cases involving male fertility problems.He noted that some couples experience unexplained infertility, where medical investigations do not identify a clear cause.The session also addressed the importance of fertility awareness, genetic screening and healthy lifestyle choices in supporting reproductive health.Dr Sahar Isa Da’as, founder of the Science Café series at Sidra Medicine, said the initiative aims to provide the community with clear, evidence-based information about health, wellbeing and fertility.She explained that reproductive health begins with the overall wellbeing of young people, women and men, and can influence the health of future generations.The discussion covered four main themes: reproductive health and wellbeing, genetic screening and counselling, regular medical check-ups, and functional medicine and nutrition.Participants examined the role of premarital screening, testing for inherited conditions and genetic counselling in helping individuals make informed decisions about family planning.The session also explored how nutrition, sleep, physical activity and stress can affect reproductive health.Dr Houda Ferjani, medical director of Zulal Wellness Resort by Chiva-Som, moderated the discussion.The Science Café series began in 2024 and is expected to continue in 2027 through the partnership between Sidra Medicine and Msheireb Museums.The initiative brings together medical specialists, researchers, and community members to discuss scientific developments and encourage informed healthcare decisions. 

UN commission says Israel has committed genocide in GazaIt cites destruction of Gaza fertility clinic in findingsIsrael denies allegations of genocideNajwa Abu Hamada felt no sense of justice when a UN Commission of Inquiry cited the destruction of a fertility clinic among actions that it said showed Israel has committed genocide in Gaza.Instead, the commission’s findings revived painful memories in Abu Hamada of the embryos she had stored at the Al-Basma IVF centre and lost when it was hit by Israeli forces in late 2023.Like other Gazans, Abu Hamada feels helpless and without a voice to protest as Israel presses on with its nearly two-year-old military offensive in Gaza and the death toll keeps rising.“The genocide is not only targeting men, children and women, it is also targeting frozen fertility eggs – my only hope,” Abu Hamada said in Qatar, where she now lives. “Israel came and even carried out genocide which reached even the embryos that belong to me at (the) Al Basma centre. What can compensate me?”Abu Hamada has already had one child by using fertility procedures in Gaza, and is still wondering if she can have another child at the age of 49.On Tuesday, she and her husband Eyad Abu Hamada spoke with her doctor Bahaeldeen Ghalayini, an obstetrician and gynaecologist who established the Al Basma IVF centre, about the possibility of undergoing further fertility treatments.“The doctor told us don’t lose hope,” said her husband.The couple had travelled to Qatar for fertility treatment before the Gaza war began. The loss of her embryos back home in Gaza in 2023 dealt a huge blow to her hopes of having another child.Reuters could not independently verify details of her story. But Ghalayini confirmed separately to Reuters that Abu Hamada had embryos that were stored at the Gaza clinic before it was attacked in late 2023.The UN Commission concluded that the destruction of the Al Basma IVF centre was “a measure intended to prevent births among Palestinians in Gaza” — one of five acts or violations that count as genocide under the 1948 convention.“The Israeli security forces launched a tank shell that directly hit the clinic and caused the explosion of five liquid nitrogen tanks, consequently destroying all the reproductive material that was stored therein for future conception of Palestinians,” it said.Israel has not confirmed striking the clinic. It has denied carrying out genocide or deliberately targeting civilians or civilian infrastructure during its military operation in Gaza, which it says is intended to eradicate Hamas following the group’s storming of Israel in October 2023.Daniel Meron, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, said the UN commission of inquiry’s conclusion that Israel has committed genocide was “scandalous” and “fake,” and described its report as a “libelous rant.”Reuters was first to report on the attack that Ghalayini said destroyed 4,000 embryos plus 1,000 more specimens of sperm and unfertilised eggs.The commission’s 72-page legal analysis is the strongest UN finding to date but the body is independent and does not officially speak for the United Nations. The UN has not used the term ‘genocide’ but is under increasing pressure to do so.Israel has accused Hamas fighters of operating from medical facilities, which Hamas denies.Along with the destruction the fertility clinic, the commission of inquiry cited as evidence of genocide the scale of the killings in Gaza, aid blockages and forced displacement.Abu Hamada had a son, Khalil, who was conceived through fertility procedures at a different clinic. He was killed when he was 17, during a flare-up of violence between Israel and the Islamic Jihad fighter group in 2022.“God blessed me with him after 12 years (of infertility) and five (IVF) transplant operations. He is gone after he became a young man and I wanted him to get married and celebrate his wedding, and I lost him,” said Abu Hamada.“We want everyone to stand by us. The whole world is watching and doing nothing.”