Embryos throughout their development period, from fertilization to the blastocyst stage, are surrounded by a membrane called the zona pellucida.
The process of blastocyst hatching, under normal conditions, takes place on embryonic day 5, at the blastocyst stage, when the embryos create a hole in the zone that encloses them and thus escape from this zone, with the ultimate goal of their implantation in the endometrium. Failure to hatch and rupture this membrane and the creation of this “hole”, leads the embryos to become trapped within the zona and therefore implantation failure.
Laser assisted hatching is the artificial creation of a small hole in the zona pellucida of the embryo using a laser to help the embryo escape easier towards the endometrium.
In cases of in vitro fertilization, it has often been observed that this membrane is hard, the embryos are trapped and their implantation fails. In particular, it has been observed that this membrane gets thicker, in patients older than 40, as well as in cryopreserved & thawed embryos. In these cases, as well as in women with unexplained implantation failure, the assisted hatching technique is applied.
The IVF Unit I work with, provides the Laser assisted hatching technique in the laboratory and therefore in the cases of my patients with the above characteristics or with frozen embryos we apply the assisted hatching method systematically.
