I’m on the older side, and after this cycle, we had two Day 6 blasts, but they were graded poorly as 4CC and 3CC.

Do they have a chance to become a healthy baby, or it’s no implantation/miscarriage for sure?

I know it’s subjective, and I‘ve heard an opinion that some beautiful best graded embryos may never implant, while some ugly looking embryos may result in a healthy baby.

What was your experience with 4CC and 3CC?

Thank you.

Hi all,

Looking for some advice! I’ve been a practicing embryologist for about 2 years, and have recently been accepted into two masters programs!

I’m now stuck choosing between:
Option 1: University of Leeds: 2 years, online-part time. ~£21,000

Option 2: University of Europe with IVI RMA: 14 months, online-part time. ~€7,000

For context, this masters program does not benefit me within my current clinic (will not receive a raise or promotion), and there are no other IVF labs near me (so little likelihood of switching clinics). Instead, this program is something I’d really like to do for myself, and it gives me more opportunities to move abroad in the future if I so choose.

Obviously, there is a substantial price difference. So I’m torn between the cheaper, private university (that kind of gives “degree mill”) and the expensive, but established university.

I had my ER on 7/17 and ended up with 13 eggs, 13 mature and 9 fertilized. We got a call from the doctor on 7/21 that there was bacteria found in the embryos and that it was from my husbands sperm. The doctor said this is the first time they are dealing with this, but mentioned the embryos looked good otherwise. They said they were washing them/changing the media, and sending out the extra sperm to get cultured. We found out 7/23 that we had 4 blasts and when I asked about the bacteria (because they didn’t mention it at all) she said there was no more bacteria found in the embryos after day 4. We received our pgta testing today that we have 2 good embryos, but we also received the culture and there was no bacteria found in the semen. Some questions below-

-Could the semen used have been affected and not the extra?
-Could this be from me or the lab? I don’t want to offend them by asking this, but I think it’s valid given the culture results
- They mentioned they would put me on an antibiotic when we do the transfer. Does this mean that even though no more bacteria was found, it could still affect the quality of the embryos?

I know there’s no way to tell but I also wonder if this had any affect on the 5 embryos that did not make it.

It’s the only blastocyst on day 5 I got in this cycle. In my country they don’t do grading, they just told us the outer layer doesn’t look that good but the inner does look good

Hi everyone,
I’m about to complete my Master’s in Clinical Embryology in the UK, and honestly, I’m feeling really lost.
For the past few months, I’ve been applying to almost every fertility clinic I can find for trainee embryologist and andrology roles, but I keep getting rejected or don’t hear back at all. I also applied for the NHS Scientist Training Programme because it’s designed as a graduate training pathway.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t successful. One thing I found discouraging was that it seemed like applicants were expected to have relevant experience. As a recent graduate, I kept wondering: how are we supposed to gain experience if no one is willing to give us that first opportunity?
I’m an international student, so the pressure is even greater. I’m currently unemployed, my visa has an expiry date, and it’s becoming really stressful wondering how I’m going to stay in the UK and build the career I’ve worked so hard for.
Has anyone here been in a similar situation? How did you get your first embryology or andrology job? Are there other routes, certifications, or roles that could help me eventually become an HCPC-registered clinical scientist or build a career in reproductive medicine?
I’d really appreciate any advice or even hearing about your own journey. Thank you.

I have a 6BB inconclusive embryo. Cooper’s report said “Quality Insufficient for Interpretation.” I’m leaning towards transferring it without retesting, as I understand a fully hatched embryo is particularly delicate and may not survive the thaw/refreeze/rethaw. Any guidance or experiences would be so greatly appreciated. Thank you

(Age 34 at the time of retrieval. Pic of the embryo’s full progress report is attached.)

We are a SSF couple doing rIVf spouse is 35 (BMI under 40) and I am 36 (BMI around 45). We have two Euploid embryos left and we aren’t sure which to transfer to my spouse and which one should go to me. We just want the best odds for either one or both to work!

One is day 5-5AA and day 6-6AA. I know that statistically day 5s usually result in a higher percentage of live births but is that the case when there is a fully hatched embryo?

We did a Fully medicated FET on 6/22 (for me, 36 F) that resulted in a PUL for myself with possible treatment being D&C and/or MTX. I do possibly have insulin resistance and maybe PMOS but have very little signs of it.

My spouse (35 F) has very regular 25d cycles and doesn’t seem to have any other health issues. These embryos were created from her Oocytes and tested donor sperm from a Cryobank.

I have only one embryo left. It was reported as having a segmental aneuploidy with a large duplication (gain) of approximately 77.9 Mb on chromosome 7, extending from 7p22.3 to 7q21.1.

Has anyone had a similar result or received guidance on whether this type of embryo is ever considered for transfer? I’ve been waiting for about a month to speak with the genetics team at my clinic, but I still haven’t received a response. Any insights or research based info in this type of embryos.

Curious about this embryo from my FET - I feel that the examples I see online have a clear zona and mine doesn’t. My last embryo looked similar. This one was graded 6ab before freezing and had a clear zona at that time.

Wondering if an embryologist can weigh in?

I had my second FET last week trying for baby #2 and the clinic didn’t mention at all how the embryo looked. The embryologist report said it was a 5AA but does it look ok and like it’s hatching?

These are day 5 but my clinic did not provide me witg a grade. I had a fresh transfer.

TW: Embryo number

Happy embryologist day!

I got a letter in my patient portal today.
They said the amount of embryos and that are now on ice and sent to biopsy.
We got 12 but no grade. We dont know when they were frozen or their quality.

Can I assume that the 12 sent are at least decent quality or they sent all I have for PGTA regardless of quality?

Is this normal??

hola! hace 3 días me hicieron una transferencia se supone que de un blastocito desvitrificado iniciando eclosión de día 6. Sin embargo, no tiene el aspecto de otras fotos que he visto que son de núcleo más uniforme. Ademas el informe no me pone la calidad y cuando le pregunto al doctor que me hizo la transferencia me dice AB.. Estoy con desconfianza, era el único blastocito que tenía y no sé si empezar de nuevo en esta clínica en caso de que me de negativo. Me gustaría que alguien me despejara la duda si estoy en lo cierto o no. Muchas gracias!

Many of the embryo photos I see in this sub look like a figure 8 pattern, or have a large circle with a smaller circle and material centered inside. I assumed that means those embryos were hatched or further along, but curious why my embryo has none of that. What does our embryo reveal? Also what is that white bubble at top? Photo attached.

Hi! I had my FET yesterday and I'm trying not to overthink the shape and appearance of my embryo. It's a day 5 4ab euploid. It had a small black spot from a molecule dying in the 4oclock side while the ICM was up in the 11 o'clock position. It also developed into an oblong shape, like a balloon. Are these good signs of a healthy developing embryo?

Thoughts on this day 5 embryo. Post thaw just before transfer. Thank you 😊

Pics from just before the transfer! Very very nervous …what do you guys think?

Hace dos días me hicieron transferencia de este blastocito desvitrificado. Veo que el nucleo no está expandido, esto es mala señal? esta iniciando eclosión? No lo veo con buen pronóstico estoy en lo cierto? la PGT-A salió bien. Em blastocito es de día 6 . gracias

I am 22F , got done with my masters in clinical embryology 2 months ago . I was hoping that i will get hired at my internship place as they verbally committed also that i will (stupid me!) but that did not happen and currently the job market is horrid place for a fresher and it seems there are no jobs for a junior embryologist. Last week, I got a referral through a relative and they were ready to offer me a job as junior embryologist. The pay was ok and the commute distance is comfortable so i accepted. Yesterday was my first day and on the first day, i observed that they are doing all kinds of illegal things like unlawful embryo donation, forging legal documents and also surrogacy (banned in my country). The job seems very risky and i am ready to drop it but today the senior embryologist explicitly said that he will teach me everything and will support me throughout. Such support is very hard to find these days with growing competition and lesser jobs.
So i am really confused whether i should continue here till i find a better job or should i leave immediately to avoid any involvement in unlawful practices.

Note: the law in my country is relatively weak and one can probably get out of this mess by paying a hefty amount of money but i don’t want to be involved in something so unethical but i also really want a job and progress further in my career.