Abstract
Purpose: To determine prognostic significance of blastomere number on Day 3 of culture upon subsequent blastocyst (BL) development.
Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted in 37 IVF subjects undergoing standard protocols and BL transfer after sequential embryo culture in P1 and BL media.
Results: Of Day 3 embryos containing 7 or more blastomeres, 68.9% (186/270) developed into BL compared to embryos containing 4–6 blastomeres, 38.1% (56/147), P < 0.0001. The majority of BL, 68.9% (168/244), were observed on Day 5. Extended Day 6 culture represented 31.1% (76/244) of all BLs.
Conclusions: The observation of 7 or more blastomeres on Day 3 yielded a significantly greater likelihood of BL development. Embryos containing 4–6 blastomeres are still relatively likely to progress to a BL. Extended culture to Day 6 still yields a significant proportion of BL. Cell cleavage stage on Day 3 appears to be a useful prognostic indicator of subsequent BL development.
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Boostanfar, R., Jain, J.K., Slater, C.C. et al. Clinical Assisted Reproduction: The Prognostic Significance of Day 3 Embryo Cleavage Stage on Subsequent Blastocyst Development in a Sequential Culture System. J Assist Reprod Genet 18, 548–550 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011953907332
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011953907332