Duration of Embryo Culture and IVF Pregnancy Outcome
Research type
Research Study
Full title
How does the duration of in-vitro culture affect the health and pregnancy potential of the human embryo?
IRAS ID
352140
Contact name
Mary McGrane-Ewen
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
The University of Manchester
Duration of Study in the UK
5 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Background:
In-vitro fertilisation (IVF) provides people with the chance to have a baby. However, the clinical pregnancy success rate of IVF remains quite low, at around 36%. IVF has also been linked with slight increases in health problems during pregnancy. For an embryo to create a successful pregnancy in IVF, it has to reach an important stage of development. This is called the blastocyst stage, and not all embryos can reach the blastocyst stage. When embryos can reach the blastocyst stage, they usually do this after 5 to 6 days of culture in the lab. However, some embryos can reach this important stage at a faster rate, after only 4 days in the lab. These faster embryos may have a better chance of creating a successful pregnancy for patients. However, this has not yet been well researched.
Aim & Objective:
The aim of this project is to find out whether transferring a day 4 blastocyst will result in a better pregnancy success. We also want to look at the chance of a patient having a problem during pregnancy, or problem with the newborn baby, after a day 4 blastocyst has been used in treatment.
We plan to compare pregnancy outcomes after transfer of a day 4, 5, 6 or 7 blastocyst. These outcomes include pregnancy success, problems in pregnancy and potential problems with the baby. This study will use a large dataset from the national UK embryology authority (HFEA). The sample will include patients who have already had IVF treatment in the UK, over the past 10 years.
Benefit to Patients:
Improving IVF embryo selection has the potential to improve pregnancy rates. This will have a positive mental health benefit to patients. In addition, selecting better quality embryos could potentially reduce health problems during pregnancy and for the baby.
REC name
London - Westminster Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/PR/0443
Date of REC Opinion
15 Apr 2025
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion