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| Treatments - Blastocyst Culture and Transfer |
Many patients undergoing IVF and ICSI treatment have more embryos available than are required for transfer. In order to select the best embryos for transfer and thus improve the outcome of treatment, it is frequently desirable to grow the embryos past the standard day 3 stage.
This extended culture allows embryos to develop into blastocysts (an embryo that has developed for 5-6 days after fertilization) and gives the embryologist the opportunity to identify and select those embryo(s) which are more likely to implant.
The selection of embryo(s) for transfer on day 5 allows the transfer of fewer embryos, which will reduce the risk of multiple pregnancies, while still maintaining the overall chance of a pregnancy for the individual patient.
Elective single embryo transfer (eSET) is currently recommended for patients under 35 years of age with sufficient, good quality embryos. For this group of patients eSET achieves similar success rates to multiple embryo transfers, with the added bonus of a significant reduction in producing multiple pregnancies and their associated risks. |
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