Ive heard that having embryos transferred at the blastocyst stage gives really high pregnancy rates. Shouldn every IVF patient have this procedure?
Embryos that have grown successfully in the laboratory for 5 or 6 days are called blastocysts. They have gone beyond the stages where it was possible to count the number of cells that they contain (e.g. 4-cell or 8-cell stage), and have begun to differentiate into 2 different cell types. A normal blastocyst should have developed by day 5 after egg retrieval and the trophectoderm and inner cell mass cells should be clearly visible. These cells give rise to the placenta and fetus respectively. Since the blastocyst now has the first placenta cells, it is ready to hatch from its shell and implant in the uterus. On average, about 30% of fertilized eggs will develop to the blastocyst stage. This number will be lower in older patients, and higher in young patients. Since older patients also tend to have fewer eggs, blastocyst stage embryo transfer is usually not a good option for them. It is better to get whatever embryos they have returned to the “natural” environment of the uterus as soon a
Embryos that have grown successfully in the laboratory for 5 or 6 days are called blastocysts. They have gone beyond the stages where it was possible to count the number of cells that they contain (e.g. 4-cell or 8-cell stage), and have begun to differentiate into 2 different cell types. A normal blastocyst should have developed by day 5 after egg retrieval and the trophectoderm and inner cell mass cells should be clearly visible. These cells give rise to the placenta and fetus respectively. Since the blastocyst now has the first placenta cells, it is ready to hatch from its shell and implant in the uterus. On average, about 30% of fertilized eggs will develop to the blastocyst stage. This number will be lower in older patients, and higher in young patients. Since older patients also tend to have fewer eggs, blastocyst stage embryo transfer is usually not a good option for them. It is better to get whatever embryos they have returned to the “natural” environment of the uterus as soon a
Related Questions
- Ive heard that having embryos transferred at the blastocyst stage gives really high pregnancy rates. Shouldn every IVF patient have this procedure?
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