# fragmented embryos



## Bhopes

Hi!

I'm not sure quite where to post this so please move if there's somewhere more appropriate  

I'm just at the end of an FET cycle and am sure it's a BFN.  We had 7 embryos survive the thaw but 5 of them started to fragment quite severely at day 3.  I'm wondering what can cause fragmentation and what it really means?  I'm thinking it's poor egg quality but could it be the freezing process or genetic problems with both sperm & egg?

Any advice or pointers would be much appreciated! 

Thanks,

Bx


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## ☼♥ Minxy ♥☼ ©

Hi

Don't give up on your FET just yet as there really is no way of knowing....try not to pin too much on the grading of the embies as really doesn't always mean much...some women have top grade 1 embies and no pgs or early mcs (like me  ) whilst others have grade 4 and 5's put back and have healthy pregnancies and babies.

Fragmentation is very common. It's where the cells divide unevenly, creating bits of membrane-bound cytoplasm that have no nucleus. The majority of embryos created during IVF cycles are observed to have some fragmentation.

There's a few threads/posts discussing grading of embies and fragmentation so here's some info (also included in sticky FAQ thread on 2ww board  )



♥ Minxy ♥ said:


> Hi
> 
> I would try not to get too "hung up" about the embryo grading as not all clinics will let you know as it doesn't necessarily mean success or failure based on embryo grade...it's mainly for the clinic/embryologists information. Also, it's not the eggs that are graded but the embryo's.
> 
> If you use the search facility then you will find this is a fairly frequently asked question & I know I've replied to quite a few of this posts so for want of repeating myself, here's some info which may give you a rough idea...
> 
> "Day 1 Check eggs for fertilization (the presence of two pronuclei or PN's)
> Day 2 Embryos at the 4-cell or more stage of development
> Day 3 Embryos at the 8-cell or more stage of development
> Day 4 Embryos at the compacted morula (16-32 cell) stage
> Day 5 Embryos at the blastocyst stage of development
> 
> ...Critical points in development are (1) fertilization, (2) 4 to 8 cell stage and (3) morula to blastocyst stage.
> 
> With regards to grading, some clinics use the reverse scale so that Grade 4 is best...you would need to check with your own clinic (ours uses Grade 1 as best) and some clinics don't grade at all...
> 
> Numeric grading systems for multicell embryos usually have 4 levels (this showing Grade 1 as best):
> 
> Grade 1: even cell division, no fragmentation
> Grade 2: even cell division, small fragmentation
> Grade 3: uneven cell division, moderate fragmentation
> Grade 4: uneven cell division, excessive fragmentation
> 
> Blastocysts are graded differently with a number and two letters.
> 
> The number refers to the degree of expansion of the blastocyst (1 is the least expanded, 6 is the most expanded). The first letter (A,B, or C) refers to the quality of the inner cell mass (the part of the blastocyst that is going to be the baby) and the second letter (A, B, or C) refers to the quality of the trophectoderm (the part of the blastocyst that is going to be the placenta).
> 
> Sometimes the laboratory uses the reversed scale where a grade 4 embryo is equivalent to a grade 1 embryo on the above scale. Check with your lab
> 
> And here's some more info...
> 
> http://www.ivf-bath.co.uk/treatments/embryo_grading.htm
> 
> However, lower grades and less cells doesn't necessarily mean that won't implant, just as higher grades can't guarantee success...
> 
> This website shows pictures of the different embryos and uses the reverse grading where grade 4 is best...
> 
> http://www.advancedfertility.com/embryos.htm
> 
> Many clinics will also only freeze grade 1 embies so usually an embie with more than 2 cells. The problem is that embies are so fragile and with the thawing process they can sometimes lose cells...so if only 2 cell embie frozen then it may not survive the thaw...although some do so would also depend on whether there was any fragmentation...
> 
> As for what's a good number of eggs to be collected....again, I would honestly try not to worry...it is QUALITY OVER QUANTITY.
> 
> Some women may only get 3 or so eggs and some may have "lower" grade embryos but still go on to get that much wanted BFP......whilst others (like me  ) may get lots of eggs and "high" grade embies and BFN...there really are no guarantees sadly which is why best not to dwell too much on it.
> 
> Lots of luck to you
> Natasha
> 
> [red]This post contains an unconfirmed link/information and readers are reminded that FertilityFriends.co.uk or its owners are not responsible for the content of external internet sites[/red]


Good luck
Natasha


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