Blastocyst Transfer


Fertility Treatments

A blastocyst is a structure of an embryo which has continued to divide from one cell embryo to a point whereby it is ready to implant on the walls of the uterus. The blastocyst consists of a few distinctive composition such as blastocoele (fluid-filled cavity within the wall of the blastocyst), the Inner Cell Mass (ICM) which eventually forms the foetus and trophectoderm which is a layer of cells surrounding the ICM and blastocoele.

The potential benefits of a blastocyst transfer are:-

  1. For couples who have previously failed in day 2 or 3 embryo transfer can opt for blastocyst transfer in order to choose the most viable embryo.
  2. Synchronization of the female’s uterine receptivity with embryo stage. In natural conception, the embryo does not reach the uterine cavity until it has reaches the blastocyst stage.
  3. Minimizes the need to transfer multiple embryos due to its (blastocyst) higher implantation rate
  4. Higher live birth rates.
  5. Minimise the risk of Ovarian Hyper-Stimulation Syndrome (OHSS).

On the other side of the story, by culturing the embryos to blastocyst stage may be regarded as embryo wastage because only about 30% of the embryos available will develop into blastocysts. Therefore, a couple may have fewer surplus embryos for freezing or sometimes with no blastocysts to transfer. A Cochrane Database Review has published that growing blastocysts in the IVF lab does not lead to more pregnancies than regular IVF. In addition, timing of blastocyst transfer is also crucial as the blastocyst may miss the woman’s implantation window.

2-cell embryo

4-cell embryo

12-cell embryo

Hatched Blastocyst

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