Embryos quality monitoring and embryo transfer

IVF Laboratory / In Vitro Fertilization - IVF / Embryos quality monitoring and embryo transfer

The embryos obtained from IVF or ICSI procedures are daily monitored using microscopy techniques to record the adequate evolution in every development stage.

In our clinic every development stage of embryos is monitored and electronically stored and the patient is informed before the embryo transfer or each time he wants to.

Following the contact of oocyte with the spermatozoa, in day 0 (the in vitro insemination of oocyte), the fecundation of the oocyte by a single spermatozoon occurs, and after 16-18 hours from the insemination a cell with two pronuclei is distinguished (one from the oocyte and another from the spermatozoon), from which the zygote will be developed ? the first cell of a new organism ? formed after the fusion of the two pronuclei.

After about 24 hours (day 1), through cell division, the zygote will give birth to 2 cells (2 blastomeres), which, through successive divisions in day 2 and 3, will form an embryo of 6-8 blastomeres. See below the schematic representation of the embryo development till day 3.

The embryos obtained in vitro are cultivated in special culture environment, being transferred daily in a new environment, adequate to the development stage.

The cultivation of embryos in laboratory conditions can be done until day 5-6, when the embryo reaches a blastocyst development stage, with a larger number of cells strongly tied together and an interior cavity well distinguished - blastocoele. See below the schematic representation of the embryo development till blastocyst stage from day 5-6.

In the fertility laboratory of the Fertility Clinic, the intrauterine transfer of the obtained embryos is done starting with day 2 until day 6, except day 4.

The day for the embryo transfer is chosen after discussions with the gynaecologist and the embryologist and is determined taking into consideration the age of the patient, the number of the obtained embryos, their evolution in the culture (their quality) and other aspects, like the organizational and technical ones. The final purpose is to obtain a success rate as high as possible, considering every particularly situation.