Egg retrieval and embryo transfer are successive steps in the IVF (In vitro fertilization) process.
The retrieved eggs are made to fertilize with the collected sperm in the laboratory after the egg retrieval process. Since the fertilization of the egg and the sperm takes place in a laboratory in a petri dish or test tube rather than inside the uterus, the process is called in vitro fertilization.
Normally, the eggs are fertilized in the laboratory under a monitored environment for 3 to 5 days. However, depending upon the days demanded by the fertilization process to develop embryos as per the patient’s preference and doctor’s recommendation, the number of days taken between the egg retrieval and the embryo transfer stages varies.
How Many Days to Wait Between the Egg Retrieval and the Embryo Transfer Stage?
You have to wait for at least 3 days between the egg retrieval and the embryo transfer stage.
The number of days you have to wait depends upon your preference of the embryo stage in which you wish to transfer them into the uterus.
Almost by the third day the embryos developed out of fertilization would have reached the cleavage stage. And by the fifth stage, the blastocyst stage would have been reached by the embryo.
The embryos are developed in the laboratory for more than three days to enhance their rate of implantation.
A blastocyst embryo is considered to implant more successfully in the uterus than a cleavage-stage embryo.
However, the implantation success of a cleavage-stage or blastocyst-stage embryo depends upon factors such as age, fertility level, etc.
All the Best for your IVF Journey !
How Many Embryos Are Required for Embryo Transfer?
Generally, one embryo is considered safer for transfer during the embryo transfer stage. Transfer of multiple embryos may result in unfortunate complications for the mother and the fetus in an Assisted Reproductive Technique (ART) procedure such as IVF. So, doctors strive to develop a viable embryo in the laboratory that would successfully implant in the uterus.
To get a viable embryo, multiple eggs round 10 to 15 are retrieved during the egg retrieval stage. All the eggs are made to fertilize in the laboratory but only the embryo that has the highest possibility of implantation is transferred during the embryo transfer stage.
The stage in which the embryo is transferred, cleavage, or blastocyst is up to the doctor to decide. Your age and fertility conditions will be taken into account before deciding on the stage of the embryo for transfer.
Which is Better: Fresh or Frozen Embryo Transfer?
Once the embryos are developed in the laboratory you can either choose to transfer them during the same IVF cycle or in a later embryo transfer process.
Transferring embryos during the same IVF cycle after the fertilization process is called, fresh embryo transfer. If the embryos are transferred at a later time in a separate embryo transfer process, it is called a frozen embryo transfer process.
Fresh embryo transfer during a single IVF cycle is widely done by many couples. However, couples who want to attain pregnancy at a later time can opt for frozen embryo transfer.
Fresh and frozen embryo transfer processes come with their pros and cons. Although frozen embryo transfers are considered to provide higher success rates, factors such as age, fertility conditions, and the stage of the embryo also influence the implantation success rate of fresh and frozen embryos.
Conclusion
The embryos developed in the laboratory are transferred usually after three to five days of fertilization. If you do not want to undergo fresh embryo transfer, your embryos will be frozen after three to five days.
The days between egg retrieval and embryo transfer or embryo freezing ultimately depend upon the stage of embryo development, either cleavage or blastocyst, you wish your embryo to achieve before transferring into the uterus.
Thus, factors such as stage of embryo development, choice of fresh or frozen embryo transfer, health condition, and others determine the number of days taken between the egg retrieval and the embryo transfer stage.
To know more about the duration of the IVF procedure and the facilities involved, contact a fertility specialist.
FAQs
The steps involved in the IVF procedure include ovarian stimulation, egg retrieval, sperm collection or retrieval, egg fertilization and embryo development, and embryo transfer.
IVF treatment includes injections, hormone medications, and procedures for egg retrieval and embryo transfer that includes no incision. IVF is generally not considered painful but it may vary across each person’s opinion. Strengthen yourself both physically and mentally to face the IVF treatment.
Couples who wish to get pregnant later in life and those who suffer from endometriosis and other fertility issues can opt frozen embryo transfer process.
