Progress in IVF technology
IVF technology is a kind of assisted reproductive technology, which aims to help couples who cannot conceive naturally achieve their reproductive aspirations. In recent years, IVF technology has experienced many advances, making more and more couples have the opportunity to become parents. The following will elaborate on the progress of IVF technology from four aspects: embryo selection, embryo culture, egg donation and the third generation IVF technology.
Embryonic selection
With the progress of gene detection technology, it is now possible to screen embryos with specific genetic characteristics through embryonic genetic diagnosis (PGD). This technology enables couples to better prevent the transmission of certain genetic diseases, such as Down syndrome and cystic fibrosis. In addition, gender selection can be carried out to meet the couple's personal preferences.
With the development of single cell transcriptome sequencing technology, scientists can comprehensively analyze the gene expression of each cell in the embryo, and thus assess the health status of the embryo. The application of this technology can improve the success rate of IVF and reduce the risk of pregnancy failure caused by cloned embryos or malformed embryos.
The progress of embryo selection technology has helped couples avoid the failure and uncertainty of traditional IVF technology, and improved the chances of success of surrogacy.
Embryo culture
Another key area of IVF technology is embryo culture. In the past, the time of embryo culture in vitro was limited, and it had to be implanted into the mother for development in the first few days. However, with the improvement of culture medium and operation technology, the time of embryo culture in vitro can be extended to five to six days.
Prolonging the time of embryo culture can better evaluate the health of embryos and select the most fertile embryos for implantation. In addition, there are also some new culture media and operation techniques that can improve the survival rate of embryos and conduct more accurate embryo positioning.
The development of embryo culture provides greater assurance for the success rate of IVF technology, and helps to reduce the risk of multiple pregnancy.
Egg donation
For those women who cannot conceive naturally and cannot use their own eggs, egg donation is an important choice. In the past, the success rate of egg donation was relatively low and often required a long wait. However, with the improvement of egg freezing, preservation and transportation technology, the success rate and efficiency of egg donation have been significantly improved.
Modern egg donation programs combine the use of ovulation promoting drugs, the development of multiple follicles, and the collection and freezing of eggs, making the acquisition and use of eggs more safe and efficient. In addition, egg donors can also carry out genetic or genetic disease screening to reduce the risk of genetic diseases in their offspring.
The progress of egg donation has provided hope for more women to realize their mother's dream, and has played an important role in promoting IVF technology.
Third generation IVF technology
In recent years, eggs or embryos cultured in the laboratory have been used in the third generation of IVF technology to improve the fertility success rate of patients. These techniques include egg activation, visual injection of eggs and co culture of isolated embryos with egg fragments.
Egg activation technology is to fertilize eggs by chemical substances or electric stimulation to improve the chance of pregnancy. The egg visual injection technology monitors the injection process by using microscopic imaging to improve the accuracy and success rate of injection. The technique of co culture of oocyte fragments and cracks in vitro embryos is to culture damaged eggs and healthy fertilized eggs together to promote embryo development and improve implantation rate.
The development of the third generation IVF technology provides new hope for those patients who have experienced many failures in IVF in the past, and is expected to increase the fertility success rate.
In summary, IVF technology has made significant progress in embryo selection, embryo culture, egg donation and the third generation of IVF technology. These advances have made IVF technology a more reliable and effective means of assisted reproduction, providing more hope and possibility for couples who cannot conceive naturally to realize their reproductive dreams.
