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Egg donation
The Vital Role of an Embryologist in an IVF Cycle
IVF (In Vitro Fertilization) is a complex process influenced by multiple factors, including the patient's age, condition of ovaries, general health status, and the fertility doctor's skills and expertise. Another critical factor that significantly impacts the success of fertilization, embryo development, and implantation is the work of embryologists.
The fortunes of an IVF clinic depend heavily on the embryology unit: the experience and professional growth of embryologists, along with the availability of optimal technical resources, are a basic yet unheralded part of the success in achieving desired outcomes.
What Embryologist Is Responsible For
An embryologist oversees several complicated phases of laboratory work and maintains ideal circumstances for the growth of embryos until the time of embryo transfer into the patient's uterus. The following are the things embryologists are trained to do:
- Egg Assessment: Counting and judging the maturity of eggs after egg retrieval procedure.
- IVM (In Vitro Maturation): Apply IVM procedures to assist immature eggs in achieving maturity when required.
- Fertilization: Carry out fertilisation through either IVF or ICSI procedures.
- Embryo Monitoring: Monitor and record all the phases of embryo development through to the blastocyst stage.
- Embryo Grading: Grade embryos according to quality and choose the best one for transfer.
- Embryo Handling: Conduct embryo transfer, cryopreservation, and biopsy based on each embryo's rate of development.
- Thawing: Thaw frozen biomaterials according to strict procedures.
- Storage Monitoring: Oversee the status of embryos, eggs and sperm stored in the clinic's cryobank.
- Record-Keeping: Keep careful logs throughout the whole process.
How Qualification Affects Outcomes
According to their extensive experience, embryologists tailor their actions to optimize the handling of each patient's gametes and embryos. The collaboration of the embryology team leads to higher fertilization and blastulation rates, meaning more embryos reach the blastocyst stage. Full focus on detail and accuracy are needed, especially when dealing with micromanipulators and microscopes.
For example, a skilled embryologist can perform embryo trophectoderm biopsies without damaging them, allowing DNA sequencing to be effectively performed during PGT-A stage (Preimplantation Genetic Testing for Aneuploidy).
An ICSI skillfully done on a single available egg can result in a beautiful blastocyst, while an embryo wrongfully discarded at the evaluation stage for poor morphological features may very well be the one that will later help the patient give birth.
When all parts of this complex expertise come together and the specialist’s judgement is correct, it can significantly improve success rates of patients who are at a disadvantage due to having poor own egg or sperm quality.
Embryo Development Essentials
There is a developmental timeline that each embryo follows:
- Fertilization: 16-20 hours following IVF/ICSI, a zygote is formed. Fertilization has occurred if two pronuclei are observed with the microscope. If three pronuclei are observed, it indicates an abnormality, and such embryos are discarded.
- Cleavage: The zygote undergoes rapid cell division without any growth in size.
- Morula: The embryo consists of 12-16 cells (blastomeres) on day 3-4. Compaction occurs in this stage, and the cells tightly adhere to one another.
- Blastocyst: On day 5-6, there is a fluid-filled cavity (blastocoel) formation and the embryo contains two distinct cell types: the trophectoderm (outer layer) and the inner cell mass. The embryo is ready for transfer, biopsy, or cryopreservation at this point.
Becoming a donor to help infertile women
Each month, a healthy young woman produces one egg fully ready for natural fertilization. However, the true capacity of her reproductive system is multiple times higher than that.
Multiple follicles grow in the body during each menstrual cycle, yet they are eliminated later. Ovarian stimulation provides an opportunity of collecting and fertilizing them, thus creating embryos for recipients via IVF/ICSI.
By engaging in a stimulation and donation cycle, donors open the opportunity to have a baby to others. In fact, donor egg retrieval gives many childless couples their only chance to have a child.
Optimal Conditions for Embryo Culture
Creating and maintaining optimum conditions for embryo growth is a priority measure. Some of the key considerations include:
- The use of only high-grade, approved culture media.
- Superior quality air and sterility in the laboratory.
- Accurate temperature and gas content in incubators.
- Minimizing the removal of culture dishes from incubators during the process.