Assisted Hatching at IVF India
One of the most frustrating aspects of IVF for patients and fertility professionals alike is to deal with failure. This is especially true in couples who have failed IVF cycles in the past and also in those whose time is running out because of their age. Now, a recently developed technique, assisted hatching, is offering new hope to couples who have failed IVF cycles.
Assisted hatching in India has grown in popularity as it is considered as one of the best IVF procedures for people with failed IVF cycles. At IVF India, Gurgaon, assisted hatching is done on the routine basis for the couple who have failed IVF cycles and want to compete their family. The success rate at IVF India in case of assisted hatching is also higher than that in the normal IVF cycle.
When the embryo is ready to implant, it hatches out of the outer shell and begins to burrow in the uterus. Assisted hatching is a procedure performed by the embryologist under the microscope which involves making a small tear in the protective outer coating of an embryo to facilitate hatching. In older patients and in cases of previously failed IVF cycles, assisted hatching may improve the chances of the embryo implantation into the womb.
Assisted hatching was developed from the observation that embryos which had a thin zona pellucida (shell) had a higher rate of implantation during IVF. It was postulated that creating a minor defect in the zona might result in a greater chance of the embryo "hatching," or shedding its shell, allowing for a better chance of implantation in the endometrium.
Initial controlled trials at New York-Cornell Medical College showed a marked increase in implantation in women over age 35 and particularly over 38 or with an elevated FSH level on day 3 of the menstrual cycle. Couples with multiple failed IVF cycles also appear to benefit from assisted hatching. Assisted hatching may be helpful in these infertile couples because their embryos lack sufficient energy to complete the "hatching" process. It is thought that some women may fail multiple cycles of IVF because their eggs have a thicker shell, therefore they have a better prognosis with assisted hatching. In addition, hatched embryos implant one day early, which may allow a greater opportunity for implantation to occur. The addition of assisted hatching to the standard IVF protocol does add extra laboratory manipulation and therefore added costs.
