What is the role of an Embryologist?
Infertility treatment for couples can involve a number of procedures. The most basic treatment is intrauterine insemination (IUI) where the male partner’s sperm is washed and transferred to the female partner’s uterus. However, when further treatment is required, IVF comes into play, and the role of an Embryologist begins.
An embryologist is a highly trained medical professional, normally holding a Master’s or a PhD degree, and is involved in bringing the egg of the female and sperm of the male together. The egg/s are retrieved by the doctor from the female’s ovaries vaginally under anesthesia. The embryologist identifies the egg/s from the follicular fluid and cultures them for the next step. In conventional in vitro fertilization (IVF), the washed sperm sample is released in a dish with the egg/s, allowing the sperm and the egg to fertilize and develop further. In some cases, especially those where the sperm sample does not have a good count and/or motility, conventional IVF might not work. In this scenario, the embryologist manually selects the best sperm from the semen sample, and injects it in each egg by a procedure called intra cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). A skilled embryologist is therefore essential for an infertility clinic.
Once the egg/s are fertilized, they develop further to form embryo/s in an incubator, at a specific temperature and pH. An embryologist observes the embryo/s over the next few days with regards to their growth and development. Selecting the right embryo/s for transferring and/or freezing is one of the most crucial steps, which can determine the chances of a viable pregnancy. In case of an embryo transfer, the embryologist loads the embryo/s in a special device called a catheter, and hands it over to the doctor, who will then deposit the embryo/s in the uterus. In case of embryo freezing or vitrification, the embryologist uses their skill to vitrify the embryo/s in a special media without damaging them, storing them in liquid nitrogen at -196°C. The embryo/s can be warmed or thawed by the embryologist at a later stage and transferred. In some cases, to screen embryo/s with an abnormal chromosome number, the embryologist performs a biopsy to retrieve a few cells that can be tested to determine if the embryo is normal.
An embryologist maintains the lab at a specific temperature, humidity and air quality that is ideally required for good embryo development. An embryologist also has to be meticulous at record-keeping and data management, which is also essential for an IVF lab. In another words, an embryologist is your child’s first babysitter! It is therefore crucial to have a good embryologist with all the expertise and experience at an infertility clinic, to make your treatment successful.
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