Embryoglue
Fertility Treatment Options
Key Points
- Embryoglue is a culture medium with hyaluronan.
- There is moderate research evidence supporting increase in pregnancy rates and live birth rates.
What is Embryoglue?
In the process of IVF, after the egg and sperm are fertilized in the lab, they are placed in a petri dish with a liquid called culture media solution. This solution optimised the development of the embryo in adverse conditions. After the embryo has developed for a few days. It will be transferred into the uterus where it will continue to grow.Embryoglue is a culture media solution that contains hyaluronan (also known as hyaluronic acid) and human albumin to help the embryo implant in the uterus. Hyaluronan occurs naturally in your uterine lining. It makes secretions stickier, aiding the very complex process of implantation. Embryo glue mimics those endometrial secretions.
Embryoglue can be used by all patients undergoing IVF.
However, the biggest benefit is for:
- Women over 35 years of age
- Poor quality embryos
- Previous history of implantation failure
Research Evidence
Studies suggest that clinical pregnancy and live birth rates are improved by the use of hyaluronic acid:- A relative increase of 19 % in pregnancy rates in more than 3200 IVF treatments when using EmbryoGlue for embryo transfer, compared to other media used for embryo transfer.
- An increase of 29% in delivery rates when EmbryoGlue was used for transfer.
A review carried out by the Cochrane Menstrual Disorders and Sub-Fertility Group, published in the respected Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, found the following:
- Embryo transfer using media with high concentrations of hyaluronic acid probably increases the number of live births compared with using solutions with low concentrations or no hyaluronic acid (10 studies).
- If transfer media with low concentrations or no hyaluronic acid have a 33% chance of resulting in a live birth, solutions with high concentrations increase the chance of a live birth to between 37% and 44%.
- There would probably be 1 additional live birth for every 14 embryos transferred in a high-concentration hyaluronic acid solution.
- High concentrations of hyaluronic acid in the embryo transfer solution probably also increase the number of clinical pregnancies (17 studies) and the number of multiple pregnancies (7 studies).
- Using transfer solutions containing high concentrations of hyaluronic acid may result in slightly fewer miscarriages (7 studies).
(Images from Vitrolife)
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