HealthWatch: Stanford Researchers Unlocking Secrets Of Successful IVF
STANFORD (CBS 5) - More than 60,000 babies are born each year due to in vitro fertilization, but those numbers may go up thanks to some revealing research out of Stanford University.
Scientists have developed new methods of identifying the embryos most likely to be fertilized.
Researchers thawed 75 donated single-cell embryos and used time lapse photography to track their timing and development for 48-hours. Only 53 of the embryos had normal timing in development and had progressed to the four cell stage.
An even bigger surprise was that, among those 53, half had the wrong number of chromosomes.
Dr. Barry Behr, Co-Director of Stanford's IVF program, having too many or too few chromosomes spells trouble.
"While they look normal they, do not lead to a healthy pregnancy," said Dr. Behr. "So even though they would likely go on to become blastocysts, they were unlikely to result in healthy pregnancies."
So, using timing and fragmentation of chromosomes, the team was much more able to predict a successful pregnancy.
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