Friday, May 09, 2014

Culturing Embryos in individual droplets acts like low cost Embryoscope - a photo essay




This is a guest post by Dr. Sai, Head Embryologist, Malpani Infertility Clinic Pvt. Ltd.

The desired outcome of IVF is a healthy baby . This is why transferring a single top quality embryo which will implant is the ultimate goal of Clinician, Embryologist and the Patient. 

What is  Elective Single Embryo Transfer (eSET ) ?

Elective single-embryo transfer (eSET) is a procedure in which one embryo, selected from a larger number of available embryos, is placed in the uterus.

It is often seen that some embryos which don’t look great on day 2 or day 3 (poor grade or slow growth) self correct themselves , catch up very well , and make it to blastocyst stage on day 5.
So it becomes very difficult to choose best embryos, when a patient has lots of top quality embryos on day 2 or day 3. Sometimes the fragmentation seen in some of the embryos on day 2 disappears on day 3.
Doing a Single embryo transfer on day 5 enables us to choose the best embryos on day 5.

The biggest advantage of doing Single Embryo Transfer (SET) is eliminating the risk of multiple pregnancy. 

Risks Associated with multiple pregnancies :
  Multiple births increase the risk of premature birth and low birth weight in infants. This can affect survival and well-being of newborns. These babies may require special care immediately after birth and at times, can face life-long problems such as developmental disabilities and delays

Women who carry multiples may be more likely to need Caesarean sections which may require a longer period of recovery.



Pictures of Embryos taken on Day 3

Pictures of Embryos taken on Day 4

Pictures of Embryos taken on Day 5





Embryos cultured in individual drop of culture medium  

Labelling the droplets enables us to number the embryos, so we can keep track of each embryo in their respective droplets.
Pictures of embryos should be taken while grading the embryos from day 1 to day 5.
These pictures should be included in the report which is given to the patient at the time of embryo transfer.

2 comments:

  1. Anonymous2:39 PM

    Where is the proof that it is the same as culture in the EmbryoScope?

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    Replies
    1. It achieves exactly the same purpose an embryoscope does at a fraction of the cost - it allows us to select the best embryo ( the one which is developing best in vitro, and which therefore has the best chance of implanting )

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