Human embryos at the blastocyst stage after 5 days of culture in the embryology laboratory.The ability to culture or grow human embryos in the fertility laboratory has made great strides in the past decade. Fertility Unlimited, Dr. Spirtos’ fertility laboratory uses state of the art embryo culture techniques to provide our patients in Cleveland, Akron and beyond with the best chance of being successful.
Historically, embryos could only be grown for two or three days in the laboratory, at which time they had to be transferred into the uterus or frozen for later use. New culture techniques and a better understanding of the embryo’s physiologic needs have lead to advances which allow embryos to be cultured in the laboratory for up to five or six days allowing embryos to reach the blastocyst stage of development. Embryos developing to the blastocyst stage of development allow embryologists to select the best quality embryos for replacement into the uterus and in some cases significantly improve the chances of pregnancy.
The ability to grow embryos to the blastocyst stage also allows other technologic advances, like genetic analysis of the embryo (PGD and PGS), to be utilitzed to further optimize our patients’ chances of becoming pregnant. Combining these advanced techniques with embryo freezing technology like vitrification has truly lead to an amazing combination for success.
