EmbryoGlue is one of the many, free-of-charge innovative ways we help to increase the chances of you having successful IVF treatment. But what is it, and how does it help?
EmbryoGlue is a special solution that acts like a ‘glue’ to help the embryo stick to your uterus after transfer.
Several studies have shown that the use of EmbryoGlue increases the chances of both pregnancy and live birth, and we were the first fertility clinic in our region to use this breakthrough product for our patients. At Manchester Fertility, we use EmbryoGlue for all embryo transfers, at no extra cost to you.
The ‘glue’ is used during the embryo transfer part of your treatment, but to understand why it works, it’s important to understand what happens to your eggs and embryos in our laboratory.
When you undergo IVF, your collected eggs are taken to our laboratory. They are then fertilised with your partner’s sperm (or a donor’s) and closely monitored for signs of fertilisation over the next few hours. Fertilised eggs are either then developed in our state-of-the-art laboratory incubators, or our optional EmbryoScope incubator.
Standard embryo development involves your embryos being examined at regular periods by our team of embryologists, to make sure they are developing as they should. We will be able to tell which embryos are likely to implant successfully, through a combination of our expertise in embryology development and the use of techniques such as Blastocyst culture. This is where your embryos are allowed to develop for longer in our laboratory, so that they reach a crucial cell stage.
If you opt for EmbryoScope, your embryos are photographed continuously as they grow, giving us a time-lapse video snapshot. This helps us to determine which of your embryos have the highest chance of successful pregnancy after transfer, because it gives us highly detailed information about every stage of your embryo’s development.
After development, our embryologists grade all of your embryos. We choose the best embryo for transfer, and you can decide to freeze any remaining good quality embryos for future treatment.
Just before your embryo is transferred to your uterus on the day of your embryo transfer, it is bathed in the special EmbryoGlue solution. It contains high amounts of naturally-occurring molecules and fluids that you’d find in your own body if you were going through pregnancy naturally, including Hyaluronan. Hyaluronan levels in your body naturally increase when an embryo implants, and so the properties EmbryoGlue contains help your transferred embryo to implant.
Read more about our Advanced Techniques, that help you have a baby. If you have any questions about embryo development, please speak to our friendly team on 0161 300 2737.
Last updated: 18th December 2020
