Intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI): Before the sperm cell can fertilize the egg it must attach to the outside of the egg and then push through the outer layer. ICSI allows us to circumvent sperm quality issues and has been used as a method of treating clinical male infertility since 1993.
Laser Assisted Hatching: Hatching is a micromanipulation procedure in which a hole is made in the zona pellucida with a laser on day three of embryos culture. This hole is made in the embryo through the use of a specialized laser. Assisted hatching is performed either to facilitate hatching of the embryo, which occurs just prior to implantation or to aid in the performance of the embryo biopsies.
Biopsy: An embryo biopsy is performed when the patient’s embryos are undergoing preimplantation genetic diagnosis, PGD testing. In this procedure the embryo is hatched on day 3 using a specialized laser to cut through the outer layer of cells. As the embryo grows and expands a small number of cells are pushed out of the hole cut by the laser. On day 5 or 6 the embryos are examined and the cells that are extruded out of the embryo are cut off and sent for PGD testing. Embryos are then preserved through Vitrification. When the results of the PGD testing are received, approximately 2 weeks later, the embryo transfer will be scheduled.