In the most current issue of Reproductive Biomedicine Online, IVF researchers in Europe (S. Palini, L. Galluzzi, S. De Stefani, M. Bianchi, D. Wells, M. Magnani, C. Bulletti) have reported  in their paper “Genomic DNA in human blastocoele fluid”,(DOI: 10.1016/j.rbmo.2013.02.01) that: 1) they were able to recover embryo DNA from the fluid-filled center (the blastocoel) [...]

(Originally published in Journal of Clinical Embryology, Spring 2012) Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) is a curious blend of medical practice and scientific technical expertise. Unlike much of medical practice, fertility treatment involves not only the patient’s body and physician’s expertise but also the skills of laboratory technicians to produce healthy embryos. As embryologists readily acknowledge, [...]

The short answer to the title question is, that Yes!, we are getting considerably closer to achieving therapeutic applications of stem cell technology to replenish ovarian reserve. Dr. Jonathan Tilly and his colleague Dr. Dori Woods recently summarized the dramatic advances in ovarian stem cell technology in their paper “The next  (re) generation of ovarian [...]

From a reader this week: I was wondering about the culture that is used to put the embryos in. I know nothing about it and got curious. My clinic had to get some particular culture/medium in so they could do day 3 vitrification and it got me thinking. What is the culture? What is it [...]

I am starting another new series called IVF Horizons which will be dedicated to reviewing what the new advances in IVF clinical therapies might be. Today’s topic is microfluidics, possibly the next new method for better fertilization and embryo culture. What is microfluidics? Microfluidics is a technology based on the behavior of fluids at micro [...]

This week, a reader contacted me regarding fragmentation in her embryos. She was told by her RE that things were looking “good” but then he also mentioned that some of the embryos on day 3 were showing some signs of fragmentation. Her question was how concerning was this observation that her embryos had some fragmentation? [...]

The other day I received this question (paraphrased)  from a reader of my blog: “What, if any, training and on-going education is required for embryologists in the US ?  And, what, if any, regulations are placed on a fertility  lab in terms of passing muster or maintaining some standard?” Well, the answer to that simple [...]

Hi Victoria, You asked me:  Do previously cryopreserved embryos develop similarly to fresh embryos so that, if one is attempting an e-SET, growing them out is one way to determine the ‘best’ one or are they somehow more fragile? How well thawed embryos grow out depend on several factors: method of freezing and thawing (Vitrification [...]

I get a lot of questions from you (Q from U) about assisted hatching so here is more on that topic. What is assisted hatching (AH) ? Assisted hatching is a technique used by embryologists to produce an opening in the outer shell of the egg called the zona pellucida.  We talk about hatching in [...]

Hi Readers, I am starting a new series, called Questions from You (Q from U), in which I answer some of the common patient questions I get from my contact email. Recently, I seem to be getting more questions about embryo biopsy for PGD. In the beginning, PGD biopsy meant biopsy of one (or at [...]