About Blastocyst Culture
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What is Blastocyst Culture?
Blastocyst culture and transfer is a procedure used in IVF in order to maximize the chance of pregnancy and cut down the risk of multiple births. While embryos in IVF are normally cultured in a laboratory for three days before transfer into the woman’s uterus, with blastocyst culture the embryo is kept in culture for up to five or six days. At this, the blastocyst stage, the embryologist is better able to select the most advanced embryos that have survived and have a better chance of implantation, and transfer fewer into the uterus.
How is Blastocyst Culture carried out?
The Blastocyst culture transfer is a similar procedure to IVF.
- IVF takes place and the fertilized egg, the embryo, is incubated in a laboratory.
- Instead of implanting the embryo after two or three days of incubation, blastocyst transfer implants the embryo after five or six days.
Who is a suitable candidate for Blastocyst Culture?
Blastocyst culture is more appropriate for people who have had failed day three transfers, or have concerns or health risks surrounding multiple births. Younger patients are more suitable, as are women with more than six high quality embryos in incubation at day three.
What are the chances of success with Blastocyst Culture?
The loss-rate for embryos is high and many women don’t have any surviving embryos at day six – according to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, around 50 percent of embryos die after day three. The clinic needs to be proficient at the blastocyst culture procedure for effective transfer to take place.
According to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, embryos that survive to day six have a 50 percent chance of success, compared with 35 percent in IVF without blastocyst transfer.
In 2006 in women receiving IVF using the blastocyst culture procedure, the percentage of cycles that resulted in a live birth was:
- 57 percent for women aged under 35
- 50 percent for women aged between 35-37
- 38 percent for women aged between 38-39
- 33 percent for women aged between 40-42
Duration of procedure/surgery : One full cycle of IVF, where blastocyst culture is used at the incubation stage, takes around 4 to 6 weeks to complete.
Days admitted : None – the entire IVF procedure is carried out on an outpatient basis.
Anesthesia : No anesthesia is used
Recovery : You will be able to return to everyday activities immediately after all stages of the IVF procedure.
Risks : Blastocyst culture is a difficult procedure but if it is carried out in a fully-equipped laboratory with the correct expertise, risks are low and it is more likely the embryos will survive and successfully implant.
Risks include:
- Loss of embryos before the blastocyst stage.
- Risks of multiple births (lower than with traditional IVF).
- Bad reaction to fertility drugs.
- Cramps and bleeding after egg collection.
- Ovarian hyper-stimulation syndrome.
After care : - Control any cramps after egg collection with painkilling medication.
- Rest for a few minutes after egg collection if you experience discomfort.
- Speak to your clinician if you have a negative reaction to fertility drugs.
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