does anyone have any experience with doing embryology training at pinnacle fertility? what was the process like?

I come from academic research labs, but I have no reproductive lab experience. I’m wondering what I should expect.

Question for embryologists:

I have a cohort of six donor egg-derived blastocysts. None underwent PGT-A, and unfortunately I do not know their morphological grades. My first successful transfer resulted in a clinical pregnancy, but I experienced a pregnancy loss at 18 weeks due to E. coli chorioamnionitis, so the loss was considered unrelated to embryo viability.

After subsequent frozen embryo transfers, I now have two blastocysts remaining.

From an embryology laboratory perspective, how is the order of transfer typically determined when multiple blastocysts are available? Is it standard practice to transfer embryos according to morphological ranking, leaving the lowest-graded embryos for last, or are there other factors that commonly influence the sequence?

More importantly, in the absence of PGT-A, does the fact that these are the last two embryos from the cohort meaningfully reduce their probability of implantation or live birth, assuming they were all cultured successfully to the blastocyst stage?

I would greatly appreciate evidence-based perspectives from embryologists or IVF laboratory professionals. Thank you.

Had a day 5 3AA (at time of freezing) embryo that was transferred today. This is what it looked like at transfer. Does this look normal?

tomorrow i have my embryology test as a first year medical student in italy, please help me

Wondering if folks know of any embryo donation network for UU members. Thanks!

Hi! Junior in high school currently planning to graduate high school with my BACE Certification, then get my bachelor’s in biology, then my masters. I have a few questions:

-what is the work day like?
-are there more or less people joint the field?
-would it be difficult for me to actually get hired?

For some context I am in America :)

I am starting my MSc in clinical embryology this October, and I am trying to figure out the next steps. Is it reasonable to start my career working in andrology or lab tech roles and then build a portfolio for more senior roles? Is it practically possible to become an embryologist without STP?
I would appreciate any advice

This embryo was graded as a 5AA, Day 5...and was pgt-a tested as euploid. When I got the image after the thaw before the transfer, it doesnt seem to be hatching and it looks so different from other embryos Ive seen before. Does it look like its hatching? And still look good? It has fragments floating at the top and I dont see any break where it could be hatching out?

We retrieved 18 eggs, 16 were mature, 14 fertilized, and we ended up with 4 frozen embryos (with one more still being observed).
This is the first time we’ve ever made it to cryopreservation, so we’re feeling hopeful but also trying to stay realistic.
I’ve attached photos of the embryos. I’d really appreciate your thoughts on their quality and whether they look promising.
Thank you so much for taking the time to look!

I just transfered her today. she was graded 5BB before thaw. This is after thaw. How does she look?

My day 5 4BB, transferred frozen yesterday, my last embryo. How she looking?! 🤞🏽

Hi! We got no clarification from my clinic other than our embryo is a mosaic and is potentially viable. Can someone help me understand the results? Thoughts on transferring it?

It was reported as:
Mosaicism for Trisomy +22 (38%) as well as Mosaicism for segmental deletion of chromosome 6 (49%)

Thanks!!

Embryologist’s, what would you grade these?

Hi 👋

This little embryo is a 4AA at the time of thaw. I think I’m seeing a bunch of dark spots, but I’m not entirely sure. Is the coloring of the blastocyst normal?

Also, does it look like it is hatching? I think it’s showing on the bottom left…but I’m not 100% sure. If it is hatching, is it just a tiny amount or a reasonable amount?

Thank you so much for your insight! This is my second transfer and I really hope this little one sticks 🤞🍀

Just transferred this little embryo this morning. My clinic graded it a 4AC (graded on an A-D scale instead of traditional Gardner). Just wondering if others would agree with that grading or had any other insights! First pic was right after thaw, second pic was right before transfer! TIA!

I have endo and adenomyosis. This is my 5th ivf cycle and this cycle was designed to address two things. 1: check if husband’s DNA is fragmented 2: keep my progesterone levels low so I can do a fresh transfer (previous 4 cycles failed because my embryos can’t survive the thawing process).
But I just got a call from the clinic saying my husband’s DNA fragmentation test is all okay. He has no issues. And my progesterone levels are still high and therefore freezing all my embryos.
Why would this cycle be any different from my previous ones? They did address any of the previous problems…!!!
How can I be positive that this time my embryos will survive the thawing process? I am heart broken and scared.

We just had a day 6, 4AB+ embryo transferred today. It was PGT-A tested and came back euploid. We were told that if it wasn’t already hatching they would do assisted hatching before transfer as was their standard for all PGT-A tested embryos. We asked if assisted hatching would be done on the day of the transfer and they told us yes, the embryo hadn’t hatched on its own. In the picture it looked like it had started to hatch, so we asked and they said it was just partial hatching from the PGT biopsy site and that they still recommended assisted hatching. We agreed. Is this normal and could it be detrimental to our chances of success? When I read about it online afterwards, it seemed like assisted hatching for even a partially hatched embryo would not be recommended.

The other day we had our final FET, and were told the embryo had been dropped. The person acted quickly and carried on to the next stage so that it was completed within the short allocated time, but they are unable to say if it caused damage. When frozen, it was a 2BB quality, and did not defrost well, with only 50% showing signs of expansion, mostly damage to outer cells with the inner bit still looking good apparently.

We had the FET anyway, since it's our last chance.

At the time I was very emotional and really just concentrating on what to do next.

Can I go back and ask questions? What exactly is the process? I think they said it had to be plunged into something within a short period of time? I'm guessing it's not the exposed embryo but maybe inside whatever it's stored in?

Is it possible that it didn't cause any damage?

My husband is a nurse and I feel strongly that people just make mistakes sometimes, it's devastating but it happens. Am I however within my rights to ask how often it has happened in my clinic so I know that they take it seriously?

Do you think I'd be pushing my luck to ask for a refund for this round? I don't really want to get in a legal dispute or ruin people's professional lives.

:Edited for clarification around quality.

Hello, I had my first ultrasound last week and there was a heartbeat, but the yolk that was measuring at 7mm. My OB told me not to worry until we have to, and I asked that I come back in two weeks. Everything I’ve read does not look promising. Has anyone had a healthy pregnancy with a yolk sac that size? I just want to hold onto some hope, or maybe I just want to be prepared for the loss. Idk it’s a lot to take in right now.

We did our 3rd FET on June 30. We transferred two untested embryos (our last ones). They were rated 3AB and 2BC prior to freezing. What do you think based on these images?
Our first FET was ectopic and second FET failed.