Written by:
Dr. Samer Tarakji
Consultant of obstetrics and Gynecology, Infertility and IVF
International Medical Center, Jeddah.
Despite numerous developments in IVF, the implantation rate of the replaced embryos remains low, some infertile patients undergo many IVF cycles and produce embryos, but the embryos consistently fail to implant for unexplained reasons. This is called IVF failure. It is a very frustrating problem for married couples who can’t have children. The chances of successfully conceiving through IVF decline with age, but it remained more successful than natural reproduction that achieved no pregnancy.
If there is an embryo transfer done, the reason that IVF fails is because of embryo implantation failure. However, we do not know whether the failure to implant was due to a problem with the embryos or a problem with the uterus. Most fertility specialists believe that in more than 95% of IVF failures it is due to arrest of the embryos.
With the advancements in technology, the field of the Laser Assisted Hatching (AH)-a technology which helps embryos to attach to the womb of the woman - has emerged as an art that gives best possible results with minimum health complications. It has boosted the hopes of many infertile couples who have repeatedly failed by using traditional IVF methods.
Especially women older than 37 years of age, have a tendency to produce eggs with a harder egg coat (zona pellucida) than younger women. The same applies for women treated with higher doses of Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH).
When Assisted Hatching is performed using a laser it does not have to be removed from its culture dish and placed in a separate “hatching plate”. The laser is attached directly to the microscope as an objective. The embryo is positioned for AH and the laser is applied 2 or 3 times until a hole is made through the shell. There is no exposure to chemicals, and the time the embryo spends outside the incubator is significantly less than when AH is performed using the Acid-Method.
Recent researches showed that women, who have undergone repeated IVF treatments without results, double their chances of a pregnancy by use of assisted laser hatching
Infertile couples or women who experienced frequent IVF failures should not bear any worries because their dream of having children will come true, moreover, researchers are still working on developing further advanced techniques and solutions.
Eventually, there are no consequences for this method. So in other words it’s the safest method for both the embryo and the mother.
