Embryologists—Real Creators Behind-the-Scenes—Key Role of an Embryologist in Fertility Treatment!
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Who is an Embryologist
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Embryologists & Fertilization
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Embryologists & Embryo Selection
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Role of an embryologist at a fertility clinic
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A Key Member of the Fertility Team
Inability to conceive a baby naturally is termed infertility. And there have been various assisted reproductive technologies evolved to resolve varied fertility difficulties. Almost all fertility treatments involve bringing sperm and egg together. Reproduction science is enticing, embryology is one such ART field where it involves study of embryogenesis, the process of fertilization, and the formation & development of an embryo.
Who is an Embryologist?
A reproductive embryologist is a scientist who works with eggs, sperms, and embryos. And they are also involved in treatment of various causes of infertility and laboratory investigation. An entomologist’s key responsibilities include collection of eggs for examination, micromanipulation procedures for gametes, embryo culture and other techniques of assisted reproduction.
Embryologists perform all essential parts of the IVF treatment cycle such as assisted hatching, embryo culture, ICSI, cryopreservation, thawing, embryo biopsy, and other embryology procedures.
In addition to these technical tasks, embryology practitioners also have knowledge and expertise to connect various embryological observations dealing with laboratory tests and patient’s history. They even decide the key parameters such as duration of embryo culture and time lapse for embryo transferring.
Embryology practitioners also analyze which embryo is worth transferring or whether to go for assisted hatching, when & how to freeze oocytes or embryos and whether to use conventional insemination or ICSI and several other practical questions.
Embryologists suggest fertility specialists to determine the best possible strategy of achieving a successful and healthy pregnancy through assisted procedures.
Embryologists & Fertilization
Embryologists are crucial to the success of fertilization. Once the eggs and semen sample have been retrieved, the practitioner starts the work of preparing eggs, separating viable sperms and combining with the egg to carry forward the fertilization process.
If there are defects found in the oocyte or sperm samples they need to be addressed prior to the fertilization process, it is the embryology practitioner who will make this discovery. Even if the samples possess no obvious defects, the embryologists need to rank the quality of collected sperms and eggs, in order to select the most healthy and mature ones for the fertilization process. Once the selection is made, then the embryologist prepares the sperm and egg and performs the fertilization procedure.
Embryologists & Embryo Selection
When fertilization has successfully taken place, the embryologists monitor the resulting embryos and keep them under observation to see how they develop. Matured embryos are graded by the embryologists, so that most viable embryos will be selected for the transfer.
PGD-preimplantation diagnosis plays a crucial role in the embryo selection process. This is a disruptive technique that can be performed to screen the quality and characteristics of the embryos.
PGD is also done to determine if there are any presence of chromosomal abnormalities in the embryos, and this test is performed by removing a single cell from the embryo and analyzing it.
Though patients who undergo IVF cycle can benefit from the knowledge provided by the preimplantation genetic diagnosis, and it is more helpful for infertile patients over the age of 35, those with a history of multiple miscarriages, previous failed IVF attempts, and genetic diseases. By performing PGD you could significantly minimize the chnce of IVF tertamnet ending a miscarriage.
Role of an embryologist at a fertility clinic
The embryologists play a critical role in the IVF and ICSI processes and their contribution in fertility treatments is no less than fertility specialists.
Most important activities that an Embryologit performs:
- Maintains all essential laboratory conditions
- Egg retrieval
- Monitors fertilization process
- Incubation and periodically checks the progress of embryos & replaces the culture media
- Genetic Testing (PGD, PGT-A)—screen embryos to check for chromosomal abnormalities.
- Assisted hatching
- Embryo transfer
- Cryopreservation—responsible for freezing eggs, sperms, and extra embryos during the IVF procedure for later use.
A Key Member of the Fertility Team
The know-how of an expertise embryologist is extremely important for the success of IVF treatments. The above mentioned skills are delicate, complex, and require years of experience. A proficient embryologist could easily make out the difference between the success and the failure of the fertility treatments. Success in fertility treatment hinges on successful collaboration between fertility specialists, embryologist, clinic’s staff, and counselors.
MotherToBe fertility center in Hyderabad has got the well-qualified, highly-experienced and dedicated embryologists ensuring the best evaluation and increased likelihood of a successful conception.
Our expert team of fertility specialists are ready to assist you on your pregnancy journey. If you would like to hear more about IVF treatments or other fertility care services offered at our practice, schedule an appointment at your convenience.