Clinical outcomes of in vitro fertilization programs and the birth of babies after transfer of poor-quality blastocysts subjected to the defragmentation procedure
Objective. To evaluate the clinical outcomes of in vitro fertilization (IVF) programs after transfer of poor-quality blastocysts subjected to microsurgical defragmentation.Kirienko K.V., Apryshko V.P., Voloshanenko V.V., Yakovenko S.A.
Materials and methods. The investigation included 20 five-to-six-old day embryos that reached the stage of blastocysts, the trophectoderm of which was classified as grade C due to the presence of 15 to 35% of cytoplasmic fragments. The blastocysts underwent assisted hatching, after which defragmentation was carried out using the micromanipulation technique. After defragmentation, the quality of the embryos was re-assessed and used for transfer or cryopreservation, followed by embryo transfer in a cryocycle. The authors analyzed the results of 20 clinical cases with a known clinical outcome after transfer of a single defragmented blastocyst.
Results. Two hours after defragmentation, the trophectoderm of all the 20 blastocysts was rated as no lower than grade B. After embryo transfer, the authors diagnosed the following conditions: no pregnancy (n=12); missed miscarriage (n=2), or a clinical pregnancy resulting in live birth (n=6).
Conclusion. Defragmentation of poor-quality blastocysts allows their morphological assessment to be improved. The clinical outcomes of IVF programs using defragmented blastocysts are comparable to those when transferring good-quality blastocysts, including those in term of live birth rates.
Keywords
embryo fragmentation
in vitro fertilization
embryo viability
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Received 02.02.2021
Accepted 25.02.2021
About the Authors
Konstantin V. Kirienko, PhD, leading embryologist, Altravita IVF clinic. Tel.: +7(967)167-79-23. E-mail: kkiriyenko@rambler.ru.ORCID: 0000-0001-8713-6231. 4A, Nagornaya str., 117186, Moscow, Russia.
Valentina P. Apryshko, PhD, Head of Embryology department, Altravita IVF clinic.
Tel.: +7(910)409-28-13. E-mail: supermycolog@mail.ru. 4A, Nagornaya str., 117186, Moscow, Russia.
Vladimir V. Voloshanenko, embryologist, Altravita IVF clinic. Tel.: +7(985)078-05-53. E-mail: veston.campbell@yandex.ru. 4A, Nagornaya str., 117186, Moscow, Russia.
Sergey A. Yakovenko, PhD; G.M., Altravita IVF clinic; researcher, M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Faculty of Physics, Biophisics Department.
Tel.: +7(903)790-90-18. E-mail: altravita@mail.ru. 4A, Nagornaya str., 117186, Moscow, Russia; 1/2 Leninskie gori, 119991, Moscow, Russia.
For citation: Kirienko K.V., Apryshko V.P., Voloshanenko V.V., Yakovenko S.A. Clinical outcomes of in vitro fertilization programs and the birth of babies after transfer of poor-quality blastocysts subjected to the defragmentation procedure.
Akusherstvo i Ginekologiya/Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2021; 3: 168-174 (in Russian)
https://dx.doi.org/10.18565/aig.2021.3.168-174
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