In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)

Blastocyst Transfer

Carolina Conceptions offers blastocyst transfer, which is a technique developed to maximize pregnancy rates while minimizing the risk of a multiple births.

Typically, an IVF laboratory cultures embryos for about three days. However, with blastocyst transfer, at Carolina Conceptions, our laboratory can grow embryos for five days. After five days of growth, the cells of the embryo should have divided many times over, and have begun to differentiate by function. The embryos (called blastocysts) that survive to this stage of development are usually of the best quality and have an extremely high chance of implantation in the uterus.

This 5-day "extended culture" is made possible by using different cultures, each one designed to meet the requirements specific to each stage of growth.

Blastocyst culture and transfer allows clinicians to determine, with greater certainty, which one or two embryos are the best ones to transfer back to the mother, for the most likely potential for implantation. Doing this reduces the occurrence of potentially risky multiple births.

To the right, photo of day 5 blastocyst hatching.