BLASTOCYST TRANSFER AND QUALITY CONTROL

A good IVF Clinic routinely does Blastocyst Transfers for all their patients. In order to ensure we have enough blastocysts, it’s very important to ensure Good Quality Control .

We need to religiously maintain our equipment in proper working conditions, which is why we check the CO2 Concentration, pH and Temperature of our CO2 incubators regularly,

We maintain Log books, because an incubator which functions properly is critical as far as fertilization , Embryo growth and Blasotcyst conversion is concerned.  This is why it is very important to check that that all equipments work properly, as even the slightest of variation can affect the Blastocyst conversion rate.

Good IVF Clinics have Skilled Embryologists, who use a CO2 analyzer, ph meter and a digital Thermometer in their Lab, which helps them to keep their Incubators working properly.

Co2 Analyzer

Picture of CO2 incubator

 

Frequency of Co2 Checking

Co2 Concentration can be checked once in a week , and mandatorily after cleaning, decontaminating and restarting the Incubator.

We also make sure that we change the Co2 Cylinders once they are half empty, as there are very high chances of the Co2 cylinder having Impurities at the bottom half of the Cylinder, which can have an effect on the embryo growth and Embryo Quality.

Thermometer

Digital Thermometer

We use a digital Thermometer to Check the temperature of all our equipments, including the incubator and the surface of all our heated stages. Embryos need to be pampered to keep them happy !

 

Digital pH Meter

We use a digital ph meter to check the pH of the Culture media.  It needs 3 point Calibration before use.We use 3 buffers to calibrate it , and make sure that it works well before we check the pH of culture media. The 26.0C refers to room temperature on this screen.

Frequency of ph Checking

We should Check the pH Mandatorily for every new batch of Culture media, and after cleaning and restarting the Co2 incubator .

IVF labs without their own CO2 Analyzer, pH meter and digital Thermometers, would never be confident about their Blastocyst Conversion rate. This is because incubators are electronic equipment , and their CO2 concentration and temperature are bound to vary over time.

This is why it is important to check the CO2 , pH and Temperature of all equipment to get optimum fertilization and blastocyst conversion rate.

The best bio-assay is to monitor the blastocyst conversion rate, and at Malpani Infertility Clinic we expect this to be around  30 -50% .