Sperm collection and processing is to be done with great care to avoid infection. Before this IVF Treatment is designed the husband must have a trial preparation of sperms to see the integrity and biological nature of the sperms and it`s survival hours. Now after egg pick up the husband is asked to give the semen sample within 2 hours. If he think it might be a problem in these tension hours, he must have done it during earlier days, which could be cryopreserved. Same applies to the husbands working abroad, or undergoing surgery / radio, chemotherapy. The husband could be given non toxic condom if he is unable to produce the sample by masturbation.
The specifically prepared sperms and the incubated eggs are combined in a test tube or petri dish in prescribed number ratio and left for few hours for them to unite.
The culture dishes are kept in a modular chamber which holds the gaseous environment very strictly and these are kept in turn in a CO2 incubator. Our IVF lab utilizes TRIGAS (O2, CO2, N2 mixture) incubator instead of CO2 alone, since the presence of 5 % O2 improves the culture Conditions and integrity of embryos.
After 18 hours, they are examined under stereo zoom microscope for fertilization which is obvious if two pronucleus are seen clearly . Each pronucleus denote the decondensation of male and female nucleus (DNA). Once they are identified fertilization is confirmed. This day could be accounted as Day 1.
After 48 hours, properly growing embryos shows 4 cells inside, and after 72 hours they show 8 cell divisions. Only then they are considered as good embryos. Once the cell division seems to be insufficient and the embryos have odd number of cells and unequal cells they are considered to be “blocked” ones and they have meager chances to make blastocysts at the end of Day 5. Depending on the number of 8 cell stage embryos available on day 3, the type of embryo transfer and the day of embryo transfer are decided. The success rates are also destined according to the number of 8 cell staged, grade I embryos available in the culture system for that particular couple.
IVF Treatment is suggested by your doctor in cases like :