Early Embryo Cultivation Technique

Answer 1

Early embryo culture technology belonged to the category of embryo engineering technology. It was the whole process of transferring an embryo that had developed to the cleavage stage or blastula stage into the uterus, allowing it to implant and develop into a fetus. This technique was mainly suitable for couples who could not conceive naturally after conventional treatment. For example, if a woman has abnormal fetal development, fluid in the fallopian tube, or if a man has weak sperm, which leads to abnormal conception, techniques related to embryo transfer can be considered, including early embryo culture techniques.

There were many ways to transfer embryos, such as artificial insemination or test-tube babies. Artificial insemination was to remove the sperm and egg through surgery, and then transfer the embryo into the female's uterus after completing the fertilisation in the body. In test-tube babies, the female's egg was taken out from the ovaries, and the sperm was cultured in the body for 3 - 5 days before the embryo was transferred into the uterus.

There were many influencing factors in the embryo culture process. For example, the cultivation environment and the technical experience of the trainer were very important. The embryo laboratory was an important place in the reproductive center. In addition, the embryo cultivation was completed here. Minor changes could cause irreversible damage to the embryo and affect the success of the test tube baby. If the laboratory conditions were not good, it would damage the embryo's DNA and cause excessive oxidogenic stress, affecting the quality of the embryo, and even causing the embryo to stop or not develop into a blastula. In addition, the process from egg to sperm to embryo formation was full of uncertainties. Every small detail would affect the quality and quantity of embryos. The normal length of the ovum was 18 - 19 mm, and the thickness of the inner membrane was 8 mm. When the ovum developed to 18 - 25 mm, the ovum could be retrieved. However, the retrieved ovum could be mature, immature, over-mature, or abnormal. Only mature and healthy ovum could combine with normal sperm to form a fertilized ovum. In addition, there was a 5%-10% failure rate in vitro-fertilisation. The reasons for failure included the quality of ovaries and sperm, the process of sperm and ovum combination, and environmental factors in the body. For patients with poor embryo development and no transplanted embryos, the next cycle plan should be adjusted according to the situation of the previous cycle, such as changing the stimulation plan, test tube technology generation, or laboratory embryo culture plan to improve the success rate.

From the stage of embryo development, 2 - 3 days of in vitro-culture was the cleavage stage, and 5 - 6 days was the blastula stage. In some cases, different embryo transfer strategies would be considered. For example, when there were many embryos, four high-quality three-day embryos could be frozen, and blastula culture could be considered for the remaining embryos. Blastula culture could be considered when the previous three-day embryo transfer failed many times. For patients who were not suitable for twins due to poor cervical function or underlying diseases, if the previous three-day embryo transfer miscarried after twins, blastula culture could be considered for single blastula transfer. For the third generation test tube, blastula culture must be carried out for pre-embryo genetic diagnosis.

It was important to note that human embryo research was limited to 14 days after conception. This was a scientific policy and regulation. This rule had reached a consensus in the world of science for reasons related to ethics, religion, and many other factors. However, the scientific community had also called for the embryo research window to be extended to 28 days to learn more about nervous system development, early organ development, improve the understanding of early embryo development, improve the safety and success rate of IFF, understand the nature of congenital defects, predict the ease of embryo conception, and study the mysteries of early pregnancy. However, there were practical obstacles to embryo research after 14 days, such as the need to design and improve the methods for embryos to support and survive in an appropriate environment.
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