At LifeQuest, we perform the most day 5 embryo transfers in Canada. Because of this, we have had more success in helping women achieve pregnancy with these advanced embryos. In the past, most IVF physicians would transfer three to four good-quality ‘day 2 or 3’ embryos. However, using more advanced technology, LifeQuest can transfer most embryos on day 5 when they are blastocysts. Waiting those extra few days in the lab to transfer a day 5 embryo, or blastocyst, can make a big difference to whether or not a woman achieves a pregnancy. Using a blastocyst to transfer during the IVF process allows the cells time to mature more than day 3 embryos and closely mimics the time of natural human implantation. A day 3 embryo has 8 cells; a day 5 embryo, or blastocyst has 70 – 100 cells. Using the blastocyst technique, pregnancy rates are higher with fewer embryos replaced. This is an advantage because we can use fewer embryos to achieve a pregnancy, reducing the chances of, and risks associated with multiple pregnancies (twins or triplets). For example, the transfer of two blastocysts in lieu of three day 3 embryos has increased the pregnancy rate but reduced the chance of triplets to almost zero. The blastocyst development rate in today’s nutritionally supplemented blastocyst media is approximately 45-50%, with a reported 50% implantation rate.
