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IVF, or Invitro Fertilization has been one of the greatest advances in treating infertility during the modern age. It has helped millions of childless people fulfill their dreams of becoming parents.
However, using IVF is not always a guarantee. Oftentimes, people have to go through multiple, heart-breaking and physically exhausting rounds of IVF before a pregnancy takes place. But now, there is hope on the horizon for millions of people who undergo IVF. New technology out of Tel Aviv University has doubled the success rate for this medical procedure, reported The Jerusalem Post.
Using Light
IVF, though successful for many people seeking to get pregnant, is not failsafe. Up until now the main focus in terms of trying to raise the efficacy of the procedure has been on the egg. This is despite the fact that issues with sperm are responsible for half of all infertility cases.
The reason for this, according to Israel21c, is the fact that the criteria for deciding the viability of sperm has been subjective. Clinicians have been forced to focus on criteria like the shape and movement of the sperm, or used dyes that could potentially harm it in order to get a sense of which were viable or not. These methodologies are not very useful, and did not necessarily lead to a usable embryo.
This is where the new technology, developed in the lab of Tel Aviv University’s Professor Natan T. Shaked, comes in. It uses the light-conducting properties of cells to make it possible for embryologists to map the cellular structures of sperm without invasive procedures or potentially harmful dyes.
“Currently, about 90 percent of sperm cells that appear suitable to embryologists actually fail to meet internal morphological criteria,” Shaked told Israel21c. “Our technology changes that, offering a new tool to significantly improve IVF outcomes.”
According to the Jerusalem Post, clinicians can now evaluate sperm by measurable criteria such as mobility, internal sperm morphology, and DNA fragmentation. This allows them to choose the most viable sperm available.
Results Have Exceeded Expectations
This new methodology is already being tested in clinical trials in five Israeli hospitals, as well as one in California and another in Japan. The results so far have exceeded expectations. The trials have resulted in 20 successful pregnancies from 31 embryo transfers as opposed to 14 successful pregnancies from 41 transfers in the control group. This is an increase in the likelihood of pregnancy from 35 percent to 65 percent, which is quite impressive.
For the team, the most rewarding part of their work has been seeing real people who have struggled getting pregnant become parents. Shaked relates a story of a couple who had been through 15 rounds of failed IVF. On the 16th round they tried the new technology which resulted in a successful pregnancy and their first child.
Infertility is one of the most frustrating and upsetting situations a person can go through. And even though fertility treatments have advanced in leaps and bounds, even IVF is not always a guarantee. That is why the technology out of Shaked’s lab is so heartening. Now, the dreams of millions of people can come true.
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