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Blastocyst

Blastocyst - Stage embryo transfer (Day 5 transfer)
1. Approximately five days after fertilisation, the human embryo reaches a development stage termed the BLASTOCYST stage.
2.Not all fertilized eggs have the potential to develop to the blastocyst stage. Embryos graded as having "good" morphology after two days in culture are far more likely to continue development to the blastocyst stage than embryos with poorer morphology.
3. Blastocyst culture can be considered if couples decide to culture embryos to this more advanced stage of development in order to select the best quality embryos for uterine transfer.
4. As research in this area is still ongoing, it is not known at the present time whether or not there is any benefit from transferring embryos at Day 5 (when they would normally arrive in the uterus and implant after passing down the fallopian tubes) or Day 2 (where the embryo will continue developing in the uterus for several days prior to implantation).
5.Patients should be aware that apparently in many cases only "good" morphology embryos will continue to blastocyst in culture, and therefore some patients by Day 5 will have no embryos for transfer.
6. Currently, freezing embryos at the blastocyst stage is not as successful as freezing at the pronuclear stage or cleavage stage. Therefore, patients will have some of their embryos frozen at Day 1 and these embryos can be transferred in a subsequent menstrual cycle if the blastocyst culture is unsuccessful.
7. Currently, some blastocyst embryos will have "assisted hatching" performed and this is usually done on the Day 3 embryo.
8. The primary aim of blastocyst culture is the transfer of a single "good" blastocyst stage embryo, thus reducing the incidence of multiple pregnancy.

Blastocyst Transfer Fact Sheet

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