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Blastocyst Culture
What is a Blastocyst?
It is a stage in the development of a human embryo- typically 4-5 days post fertilization. Containing about 50-200 cells, it is imperative for embryos to reach the blastocyst stage as some of these cells are responsible for getting implanted to the uterus lining while the rest are the foetus itself.
This process occurs in the fallopian tube during a natural pregnancy. However, it can be attained in a laboratory too.
What is Blastocyst culture?
Until about 10 years ago, it wasn’t possible to consistently grow (or rather ‘culture’) embryos to the blastocyst stage in a man-made laboratory. Specialised commercial culture media, that is the fluid in which embryos are grown in the lab, have now allowed medical practitioners to successfully nurture embryos to the blastocyst stage outside the human body. This process is known as ‘blastocyst culture’.Where is Blastocyst culture used?
A now-routinely used step in IVF treatments, embryos are allowed to develop for 5-6 days till they reach the blastocyst stage before transferring them to the uterus. This is unlike the previous approaches where embryos were introduced within 2-3 days only during their “cleavage” stage. The extra time gives doctors the chance to monitor the embryos more closely and understand which ones are potent enough to result in a successful pregnancy. This also means fewer embryos being introduced, avoiding the chance of multiple births.
As the “blastocyst” stage is the final stage before an embryo gets implanted onto the uterus lining, later studies showed that transferring them at this time increases the pregnancy rates.
Quick Enquiry
Is Blastocyst culture right for me?
This totally depends upon the health of your eggs and embryos. If we have retrieved fewer than normal eggs or fewer than normal embryos have been formed, we can discuss introducing the embryos at an early stage instead of the blastocyst stage into the uterus. If you are planning a frozen embryo transfer cycle using frozen embryos from your previous cycles at an earlier stage of development, we can use blastocyst culture to see which of those thawed embryos can progress to the blastocyst stage and ultimately have the best chance of resulting in a pregnancy.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is used to do extended culture as a selection tool. In a natural pregnancy, a 3-day-old embryo resides in the fallopian tubes and reaches the uterus on day 5 or 6. By transferring the lab-cultured embryo to the patient’s uterus on day 5, the embryo is being returned to a more natural environment mimicking natural pregnancy at a time when the uterus generally receives the embryo.
If more than one embryo reaches the Blastocyst stage, can I preserve it like other embryos and eggs?
Yes, blastocyst stage embryos can be successfully cryopreserved as well as used for genetic testing.
- High pregnancy rates in certain cases
- Better embryonic-endometrial synchronization
- Single embryo transfer (compared to 2 or 3 embryos usually transferred) reduces the possibility of multiple pregnancies
- Allows “self-embryo selection” to permit the transfer of high-quality embryos.
- Helps monitor embryos formed in cases of Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS) and proceed to embryo transfer only if the condition gets better.
