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| XPert Fertility Care of California has been established since 1996. Overcoming infertility could be challenging at times, but with expertise and genuine care, Dr. Ho's has successfully helped thousands of couples to fulfill their dreams of having a family... |
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IVF XPERT (XPert Fertility Care Fertility Library Fertilization |
| Embryo Development |
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| Monday, 02 April 2007 | |||||||||
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Embryo Development - Criteria for Embryo Grading System: Day of Egg Retrieval: On the day of your retrieval Dr. Ho will personally speak with you about the number of eggs retrieved and treatment protocol for the next 3-5 days. On average, only about 70-80% of follicles actually contain eggs. Smaller follicles may produce immature eggs or no egg at all. Mature eggs are the one has divided half of the chromosomes from 46 to 23. Only mature eggs are ready for fertilization. At XPert Fertility Care (IVF XPERT), fertilization rates are as high as 70% of the eggs inseminated. The rate of fertilization by ICSI in our laboratory can be as high as 80%. Day 1, the day after insemination: The next day, Day 1, our embryologist will check for fertilization and expect to see the presence of two pronuclei. One pronuclei contains the genetic material from the sperm and one contains the genetic material from the egg. Normal fertilization should complete by day 1. Day 2, 4 Cell Stage: On day 2 we will check for embryo cell division. About 90% of fertilized eggs should divide every 12-24 hours after fertilization and should have between 2 – 4 cells by day 2. We take a close look at the symmetry of the cells, and observe the fragmentation level. Sometimes, during the process of cell division, small fragments of cellular cytoplasm broken off. These small cytoplasmic fragments do not contain any genetic material. A fragmentation level of 0 to < 10% is preferred. Fragmentation of greater than 30% may indicate an embryo that is dying and the cells are breaking down. The reasons for fragmentation can be due to genetic make up of the egg, male factor, stimulation protocol, culture enironment. Each embryo will be assigned a grade 1 = No Fragments, cells are very even 2 = < 10% fragments, slightly uneven 3 = 10 – 35%, very uneven cells. The higher the fragmentation level the poorer outcome although we have seen pregnancy with fragmentation rate as high as 20%. Day 3, 8 cell Stage On Day 3 we expect 4 to 8 cells in each embryo and grade on the same scale as Day 2. If the number of good embryos on Day 3 are less than 4, with a total number less than 8, the transfer will probably occur that day. If there are good to fair quality embryos after the transfer, the embryologist will suggest a freeze or cryopreservation. If there are more than 5 good embryos, and the total number of embryos is more than 8, we recommend to culture them and see if the blastocyst stage is reached. Only 30 to 40 % of the embryos in the best cycles become a blastocyst.
Day Four, Morula Stage On Day 4 we look for the separate cells to start compressing together and become connected. This process is called compaction. When they are completely compacted, a tight ball is formed and no individual cells are evident, the embryo is called a morula. Day 5 , Blastocyst: On Day 5, ideally, the morula will pull in fluid and begin to expand out like a bubble. Once a fluid filled cavity is established the embryo is called a blastocyst. A blastocyst has three parts: an inner cell mass that is destined to become fetal tissue, the flattened outer cells called trophectoderm, which become the fetal part of the placenta, and the fluid filled cavity, called the blastocoel cavity. Once the embryo reached the blastocyst stage it is ready for implantation. |
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| Last Updated ( Monday, 02 April 2007 ) | |||||||||
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