Middle East Health speaks to Rayan Salam, Chairman of Umniya Fertility, about how Abu Dhabi’s newly launched fertility hub is moving beyond procedure-led medicine, integrating system-led clinical governance, precision diagnostics, preimplantation genetic testing, and AI-assisted embryo assessment into a single, coordinated pathway built to deliver measurable, outcomes-driven reproductive care.
Umniya represents the next stage of what was previously HealthPlus IVF & Women’s Health, following its transition from M42 in Abu Dhabi.
Middle East Health: You’ve been closely involved in fertility care in Abu Dhabi for a number of years: What were the most significant gaps in how care was being delivered that Umniya has been specifically designed to address?
Rayan Salam: The reality is that fertility care didn’t have a clinical capability problem – it had a design problem.
Fertility care was historically organised around individual procedures and physician reputation rather than around outcomes or full patient journeys. Diagnosis, laboratory work, genetics, and follow-up operated in parallel rather than as a single coordinated pathway. That fragmentation created variability in outcomes, in decision-making, and in how patients experienced care.
At Umniya, we’ve redesigned that model from the ground up. We moved away from personality-led medicine to a system-led approach, where every step is structured, connected, and accountable. The Umniya Method is not a philosophy it’s an operating system that ensures care is consistent, measurable, and outcome-driven. From the first consultation through to post-treatment follow-up, the journey runs as a continuous pathway rather than a series of disconnected interventions.
Another critical gap was the reliance on averages. Patients were guided by generalised statistics rather than their own biology. We’ve shifted to a precision-led model, combining advanced diagnostics with predictive modelling to give patients a clearer view of their probabilities, timelines, and decisions.
The third gap was patient experience. Clinical excellence existed, but the journey was inconsistent. Fertility is deeply personal, yet the system was not designed to reflect that. We built Umniya to deliver an experience that responds to patients emotionally, where every touchpoint is intentional.
Put simply: we didn’t tweak the system, we rebuilt it.
Middle East Health: How are you approaching clinical governance at Umniya, and what mechanisms are in place to ensure that care quality and decision-making remain consistent as the service develops?
Rayan Salam: The biggest shift we have made is moving from physician-dependent variability to consistent system-driven decision-making.
Every treatment pathway at Umniya is guided by clear, evidence-based frameworks that support the treating physician in making consistent, high-quality decisions. Governance is embedded into daily practice, not applied retrospectively.
Clinical governance starts with data. Each case is built on a comprehensive diagnostic foundation and reviewed across a multidisciplinary team of physicians, embryologists, genetic counsellors, and care coordinators, ensuring decisions are collective, variability is reduced, and accountability is shared.
We’ve also introduced probability modelling and structured consultation frameworks including the Umniya 1st Consultation Playbook, which ensures every initial consultation covers the same diagnostic ground, reviews the patient’s AI-generated probability dashboard, and sets expectations consistently. Patients are not just told what to do, they understand why decisions are being made.
One of the most underestimated governance tools is care coordination. Every patient has a dedicated Clinical Care Coordinator ensuring alignment across physicians, laboratory teams, and follow-up. That continuity eliminates gaps and fragmentation.
Governance, for us, is not an audit function. It’s built into how we work.
Middle East Health: What is Umniya’s current accreditation status under the Abu Dhabi DOH framework, and are international accreditations such as those from ESHRE or JCI being pursued?
Rayan Salam: Umniya operates under the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi, which has established one of the world’s most advanced quality systems for fertility care, including structured reporting through JAWDA and Malaffi and outcomes-linked reimbursement.
Umniya has already achieved international accreditation through Joint Commission International (JCI) and the College of American Pathologists (CAP), reflecting adherence to globally recognised standards in patient safety, clinical governance, and laboratory quality. From the outset, we have also aligned our governance structure, clinical protocols, laboratory SOPs, and data infrastructure with benchmarks set by the ESHRE.
That said, accreditation is not the goal, it’s a byproduct. You don’t build a great system to pass accreditation; you build it to deliver outcomes. Our focus is measurable clinical performance, transparency, and alignment with Abu Dhabi’s shift toward value-based healthcare.
Middle East Health: Is Umniya intended to remain a single-site facility, or are there plans to expand capacity or extend access through telemedicine or satellite services?
Rayan Salam: We are very deliberate about how we scale, and our immediate focus is depth before breadth.
Fertility care is, by definition, highly personal. Every patient’s situation is different, and the treating physician still leads every clinical decision – they understand the nuances of each case and build a direct relationship with the patient. That is not something we standardise, nor should it be.
Where we bring structure is around the system that supports those decisions – data, technology, and integrated workflows that ensure every patient benefits from the full depth of clinical insight, laboratory expertise, and evidence-based decision-making available within the organisation. The objective is to give every family the strongest possible chance of a healthy pregnancy and delivery by using precision and data to optimise their pathway, rather than subjecting them to avoidable cycles and uncertainty.
We are already extending access through digital channels, including teleconsultation and remote follow-up, which are particularly relevant where early assessment does not always require physical presence.
The model we are building is scalable not because it standardises patients, but because it standardises how knowledge, data, and expertise are applied. When we expand, it will be driven by our ability to consistently deliver outcomes while preserving the individuality of care.
Middle East Health: It is noted that Umniya brings precision diagnostics, customised treatment planning, genetics, and wellbeing support into a single, coordinated experience. Which specific laboratory and genetics technologies are being used at Umniya – for example, IVF-linked genetic tests performed on embryos before implantation, such as PGT-A/PGT-M, or AI-assisted embryo selection – and are further capabilities planned?
Rayan Salam: Genetics is central to our clinical pathway.
We offer the full range of preimplantation genetic testing including PGT-A, PGT-M, and PGT-SR, integrated directly into treatment planning. In a region where consanguinity rates are higher, this is particularly important in reducing genetic risk and supporting healthy outcomes. Our genetics team works in partnership with Centogene, ensuring access to advanced diagnostic platforms.
In the laboratory, we are deploying AI-supported tools across embryo, oocyte, and sperm assessment, shifting evaluation from subjective interpretation to standardised, outcome-linked analysis. During the active cycle, PredictAI supports real-time stimulation and trigger timing adjustments based on patient-specific variables.
We are also building localised AI models trained on our own patient data, because much of the global fertility data is based on Western populations and lacks predictive accuracy for our region.
We’re not layering technologies for the sake of it. The aim is to integrate them into a single decision-making system where diagnostics, embryology, and clinical planning continuously inform one another.
Middle East Health: The whole-person model is central to Umniya’s positioning – which allied health disciplines are embedded in the clinical pathway, and how is psychosocial support formally integrated into treatment decision-making rather than offered as an adjunct?
Rayan Salam: Most clinics treat holistic care as an add-on. At Umniya, it’s built into how we work.
Fertility outcomes are not driven by biology alone. Psychological, lifestyle, and environmental factors all play a role. That’s why our model integrates IVF physicians, embryologists, nurses, genetic counsellors, urologists, internists, mental health specialists, nutritionists, and wellbeing practitioners into a single coordinated pathway.
Psychosocial support is built into treatment planning. This is particularly important at the point of initial consultation, where clinical, emotional, and lifestyle factors are assessed together to define the most appropriate pathway from the outset. Every patient is supported by a Clinical Care Coordinator who ensures continuity and alignment across the journey. In parallel, all patient-facing teams are trained in what we call 360-degree Emotional Intelligence, ensuring consistency in communication and decision-making.
Before a cycle begins, patients go through a structured body-and-mind optimisation protocol and must clear a final readiness checklist, ensuring they are physically, emotionally, and informationally prepared before treatment starts.
The shift is practical: wellbeing is not supportive; it directly influences outcomes.
Middle East Health: Fertility treatment can involve multiple decision points that are difficult for patients to interpret. How is Umniya using technology to make clinical information clearer for patients without oversimplifying it?
Rayan Salam: We don’t believe in simplifying complexity, we believe in structuring it.
Through the Umniya Method, we are incorporating AI-supported diagnostics and probability modelling to translate each patient’s biology into a clear, structured pathway. Patients can see expected outcomes, timelines, and decision points in a way that is transparent and grounded in data.
This changes the conversation. Instead of uncertainty and averages, patients are engaging with personalised, evidence-based plans. They understand not just what is being recommended, but why.
Technology enhances clarity, but the physician remains central. The goal is an informed patient, not an overwhelmed one.
Middle East Health: How has patient data been managed through the ownership transition from HealthPlus IVF? Are former patient cohorts being followed prospectively to support longer-term outcome reporting?
Rayan Salam: Data continuity was treated as a critical workstream during the transition.
All patient records were maintained in full compliance with regulatory requirements and migrated into an integrated digital platform, ensuring that historical data remains accurate, accessible, and secure.
We are now building toward longitudinal outcome tracking across the full patient journey, shifting from cycle-based success metrics to what ultimately matters: time to a healthy delivery, safety indicators, and overall treatment effectiveness.
This aligns with Abu Dhabi’s Pay-for-Quality framework, which is shifting the focus toward outcomes rather than activity.
We are also launching the Umniya Innovation Hub with scientific, research, and academic partners to ensure our data contributes to broader clinical advancement.
Data, for us, is not just a record. It is an active tool to improve decisions, refine protocols, and continuously elevate performance.
About Umniya Fertility
Umniya Fertility is an Abu Dhabi-based hub for fertility solutions, delivering evidence-led, outcomes-focused care through integrated clinical pathways and a whole-person approach. Built on trusted medical expertise and guided by purpose, Umniya combines advanced science, genetics, and emotional intelligence to support individuals and families across every stage of their fertility journey.
The name Umniya carries deep meaning: in Arabic, it means “wish,” and is rooted in Um (mother) and niya (intention), reflecting a commitment to care delivered with purpose, clarity, and responsibility.
Following a strategic transaction between Olive Rock Partners and M42, full ownership of the former HealthPlus IVF transitioned to Olive Rock Partners. With the appointment of Cedro Strategy, the clinic was transformed and rebranded as Umniya Fertility, continuing to operate from its Abu Dhabi facility with uninterrupted patient care.
