Latest advances

Although a significant number of patients are benefited by ART techniques, the pregnancy rates are still not upto the patients expectations. The relatively low clinical pregnancy rates and take borne baby rates has always been a serious challenge in IVF. Many of the failures in IVF are attributed to the failure of the embryo to hatch and subsequently embed in the uterine wall. Our center is now aiming to overcome this problem by introducing the laser technology. Laser can lend a helping hand to assist embryos in hatching. This is indicated in patients with a thick zona and in those who have had repeated IVF failures where hatching could have been a possible factor for the failure. This technique would therefore raise implantation rates thereby increasing the overall success rates of ART. Laser will also help evolve another technique "Embryo Biopsy" that enables removal of a single blastomere and analysis of the same before transfer to ensure a chromosomally normal healthy child. It is especially useful in patients with genetic disorders or those at risk of carrying a foetus with sex linked disorders where one can identify the sex (using FISH) and subsequently transfer unaffected embryos. Reproduction and genetics have always been interlinked. IVF has opened new interplays between genetics and infertility, especially male infertility. The clinical outcome of pregnancies arising from assisted conception are very important. It is essential to understand any genetic consequences of the procedures of IVF and especially of ICSI which is an invasive procedure and so it becomes mandatory for all couples undergoing ICSI to undergo genetic testing.