Igor Hudić

Infertility is a growing burden of our society

Assist. Prof. Igor Hudić, MD, PhD, works at the Clinic for Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Clinical Centre Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and focuses his clinical and research work on infertility. The study he conducted is the first to investigate the role of the progesterone-induced blocking factor (PIBF) as a possible predictor of pregnancy outcome after in vitro fertilization (IVF). There are many known reasons for infertility; however, in about 20% of the cases the cause remains unknown – this is where we talk about idiopathic infertility. Since helping all women is their moto, this 20% pose a huge scientific challenge which Assist. Prof. Hudić and his team addressed in their research.

“We asked ourselves whether there are any immunological factors contributing to the infertility problem and we wanted to find out why the IVF sometimes results in unsuccessful pregnancies and whether we could prevent that. Therefore, we investigated the PIBF as a possible cause of infertility and possibly even the key part of this puzzle. Our study is the first of its kind to ever have been published which researches the influence of the PIBF at the time of implantation after the IVF procedure. The results denoted a higher pregnancy rate in women who expressed higher levels of the PIBF. Successful pregnancy after the IVF procedure is predictable by measuring the PIBF concentrations, and in the future, this factor could potentially be given after the IVF procedure to women with low concentrations of the PIBF,”

explains Assist. Prof. Hudić, who is very happy with both the results of the study, as well as being a nominee. A bit less is he enthusiastic about the conditions for research work in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He puts poor conditions for research work down to the fact that the country of his origin is small, in transition and with a very limited budget.

His scientific background started years ago in medical school. Now, being an experienced consultant, he draws a lot of satisfaction from helping couples have children of their own. For him, this is priceless. However, over the past ten years, his work has become harder, but also more challenging and interesting on a day-to-day basis.

Although his job takes up a lot of his time, he tries to devote as many of his free moments as possible to his family, children and friends.