Who should be treated with assisted hatching?
The most commonly used indications for assisted hatching with an in vitro fertilization case are:
- Age Factor - Couples having IVF with the female partner's age over 37
- Egg quality and quantity factor - Couples in which the female's day 3 follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) level is elevated
- Embryo quality factor - Couples having IVF with poor quality embryos (excessive fragmentation or slow rates of cell division)
- Zone factor - Couples having IVF with embryos that have a thick outer shell (zona pellucida)
- Previous failures - Couples having IVF that have had one or more previous IVF cycles that failed
How is assisted hatching performed?
- The embryo is held with a specialized holding pipette.
- A very delicate, hollow needle is used to expel an acidic solution against the outer "shell" (zona pellucida) of the embryo.
- A small hole is made in the shell by digesting it with the acidic solution.
- The embryo is then washed and put back in culture in the incubator.
- The embryo transfer procedure is done shortly after the hatching procedure. Embryo transfer places the embryos in the woman's uterus where they will hopefully implant and develop to result in a live birth.
Pregnancy rates
Pregnancy rates for in vitro fertilization procedures with assisted hatching have been shown in some published studies to be higher than for IVF without hatching. There is an improvement in implantation and pregnancy rates in our IVF clinic with the use of assisted hatching. This is not seen in all IVF programs.
|
