Assisted Hatching
Assisted Hatching
Assisted hatching is an additional technique used in assisted reproduction which can improve pregnancy rates in certain cases.
Even if an IVF cycle is conducted according to the best clinical practices, it could still fail to result in a pregnancy. The main reasons for
that are suboptimal embryo quality and failure of implantation.Assisted hatching may be helpful in cases where there is failure of implantation due to the fact that the embryo cannot “hatch” from its zona pellucida (the layer of glycoprotein that serves as its shell). The reason may be that the zona is too hard or too thick. In order to overcome this problem, a fine hole is mechanically created in the zona.
This manipulation may facilitate the process of embryo hatching from the zona pellucida, thus enabling embryo implantation and pregnancy.
Assisted hatching is recommended for patients who:
✓ Have experienced repeated IVF/ICSI failures (at least 3)
✓ Are undergoing an IVF/ICSI cycle with frozen embryos