The Key to Successful IVF Fertilization | The Triangle of Age, Sperm, and the Laboratory
Chapter 1: The Invisible Elimination of Eggs – Why does the number of eggs retrieved ≠ the number of eggs available? “My doctor told me that 15 eggs were retrieved, but only 8 ended up being mature, and it was at that moment that I realized that the competition for fertility begins at the egg stage.” Emily Martinez from New York lamented as she shared her IVF experience. In IVF treatment, egg maturity is the first threshold for successful fertilization. Even with ovulation induction, 30-40% of eggs are eliminated due to “developmental defects”: Immature eggs (GV/MI stage): the nucleus has not disappeared and fertilization cannot be initiated (approximately 35%);Post-Mature: more than 24 hours after ovulation, the zona pellucida is hardened like an “eggshell” (20% of cases);Empty Follicle Syndrome (EFS): no oocytes in the follicular fluid (up to 15% of women of advanced age).According to Dr. Laura Simmons, a reproductive biologist at Harvard Medical School, “Ovulation-promoting drugs can awaken more follicles, but they can’t reverse the intrinsic quality of the eggs-a biological reality written by age and genes.” Chapter 2: Life Signals Under the Microscope – How Prokaryotic Observations Determine the Fate of the Embryo “When the embryologist told me that only five out of nine eggs fertilized properly, I stared at the tiny dots of light in the microscope photo and understood for the first time what the ‘code of life’ was.” Sophia Clark of London recalls. The prokaryotic (PN) observation, 16-20 hours after fertilization, is a “critical moment” in the embryo lab: Type of fertilization atomic number rate of occurrence Chromosome normalization rate Recommendations for handling normal fertilization 2PN 60%-70% >80% Prioritization of sacs mononuclear 1PN 3%-6% 15%-50% PGT screening polyprokaryotic ≥3PN 5%-10% 0% abandon by force “While 2PN is like a wedding ring exchanged between sperm and egg,…
