Laser Assisted Hatching: Innovations in Infertility Treatment
During last years modern medicine has evidently “moved up” but still not all cases of infertility treatment using ART are successful at the first attempt. To increase the chances of embryo transfer and the further fetus’ development the method of laser assisted hatching is used nowadays.
Laser Assisted Hatching. What is it?
At the early stages of development human embryo is surrounded by the shinning transparent aleuronic membrane (in Latin “zonae pellucidae”) which serves like a protecting shell: it provides selective supply of the nutritive materials to the embryo and protects it from the mechanic injuries.
During the process of cells division under the influence of special natural mechanisms and enzymes this membrane becomes thinner and usually on the 5-7th days of such a division it breaks and “slips off” and, in such a way, allows an embryo to go out the cell and successfully implant into the endometrium.
How is it conducted?
Small gashes on the membrane are made noncontract by thin laser beam through the optic lens. This method is viewed to be quite exact, safe and effective. This procedure is absolutely harmless for a pregnant and a future child and, at the same, increase the effectiveness of infertility treatment for 25-30%.
When is it necessary to conduct laser assisted hatching?
- woman is over 38;
- smoking;
- numerous failed IVF cycles;
- bad morphological embryo conditions;
- thickened embryo membrane and other abnormities;
- high level of FSH (follicle-stimulating hormone) in the blood;
- embryo transfer after the cryopreservation.
But because of different reasons this process both in the natural and “in tube” conditions goes on not always correctly preventing from becoming pregnant. To avoid such a problem during IVF procedure very often specialists prefer to conduct a method of laser assisted hatching – artificial insection of embryo’s shinning membrane in the lab conditions.