How to determine the quality of embryos selected by IVF?
With the development of science and technology, IVF technology has become an important means to help infertile couples realize their reproductive dreams. In the process of IVF, the selection of embryo quality is crucial. So, how to determine the embryo quality of IVF? The following four aspects are described in detail: embryo quality, embryo development speed, gene detection and quality assessment methods.
Embryonic quality
Embryo quality is one of the important indexes to measure embryo quality. The common methods for evaluating embryo quality include morphological evaluation, embryo grading and embryo development quality evaluation. Morphological evaluation is mainly to observe the appearance of the embryo, including cell division, cell number, cytoplasm color, etc. Embryo grading is to use the internal and external morphological characteristics of embryos to divide embryos into different grades according to certain standards, generally divided into high quality, good and poor grades. The evaluation of embryo development quality can obtain the information of embryo development speed, symmetry, and the formation of blastocyst cavity by observing the development process of the embryo in the culture dish, so as to judge its quality.
The evaluation of embryo quality requires professional doctors and laboratory equipment. Real hospitals such as Peking Union Medical College Hospital and Ruijin Hospital affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine can provide such services. Doctors will comprehensively consider these evaluation results when selecting embryos, and select the best quality embryos for transplantation.
Embryonic development rate
The rate of embryo development is also one of the important indicators for evaluating embryo quality. Normally, embryos will go through a series of development stages in the process of in vitro culture, and the number of embryos will gradually decrease over time, and eventually develop into blastocysts. Proper development speed is one of the signs of healthy embryo development.
Generally, the development time of the embryo in the culture dish should be 3-5 days. At this time, the embryo will develop to 4-8 cell stages. Doctors will observe the division of embryonic cells, the symmetry of the embryo, and the development of the embryo in the cytoplasm to assess the rate of embryo development. If the development speed is too fast or too slow, it may affect the quality of the embryo.
Gene testing
With the development of biotechnology, gene detection has become one of the important means to evaluate embryo quality. By carrying out gene testing on embryos, we can screen the embryos carrying certain genetic diseases, and then select the embryos without genetic diseases for transplantation. This method is widely used in elderly pregnant women, couples carrying genetic disease genes and couples who have had multiple abortions.
The common gene detection methods mainly include chimeric targeting sequencing, spectrum linkage sequencing and chromosome analysis of many somatic cells. These methods can detect the chromosome number, structural abnormalities and some single gene diseases of embryos. Through gene testing, embryos with genetic diseases or chromosome abnormalities can be excluded in advance, and better quality embryos can be selected for transplantation.
Quality assessment method
In the process of IVF, some advanced technical means can also be used to evaluate the embryo quality. For example, embryos can be evaluated by time extension culture, embryo heartbeat monitoring, embryo nutrient solution composition analysis and other methods to further screen better quality embryos.
In addition, during in vitro fertilization, the quality of embryos can also be evaluated by PH, redox potential, embryonic cell vitality and other indicators during embryo culture. These indicators can reflect the environmental conditions of embryos in culture dishes, and then indirectly reflect the growth and health status of embryos.
Summary
The embryo quality of IVF is one of the important factors that determine the fertility success rate. The success rate of IVF can be improved by evaluating embryo quality through embryo quality, embryo development speed, gene detection and quality assessment methods. Doctors will comprehensively consider these evaluation results, select better quality embryos for transplantation, maximize the success rate of transplantation, and realize couples' reproductive dreams.
