IB Research: Effect of the position of inner cell mass on embryo implantation

Last June, the most relevant European congress in the field of reproductive medicine, ESHRE’s Annual Meeting (European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology) took place for the 31^st time. Instituto Bernabeu played a significant role in the event with a total of ten pieces of work being accepted: two oral presentations and eight posters. One of these lines of work is detailed below.

Embryo biopsy on day 5 involves obtaining a fragment of the trophectoderm (embryonic cells which then become part of the placenta) so that genetic material may be analysed. In order to make it easier to obtain these cells, a hole is usually made in the zona pellucida on day 3 and this can affect the position of inner cell mass (ICM) during biopsy. The different positions can be interior, exterior and intermediate.

The aim of this piece of work was to determine if the position of inner cell mass during embryo biopsy can affect embryo implantation and early development of the foetus. Results indicated that there were no statistical differences in terms of ICM position and implantation and such development. However, a reduction in implantation results was observed when ICM took place in the intermediate area.

“Does the position of the inner cell mass during biopsy affects implantation?“ A. Rodríguez-Arnedo, R. Bernabeu, H. Blanca, M.C. Díaz, I. Ochando, MC Tió, F. Sellers, J. Ll. Aparicio, J. Ten. Poster. ESHRE Annual Meeting. Lisbon, Portugal. June 2015