Grading question - chances of sucess.

[threemonsters]

Carole,
I saw your post on ask the expert. I wondered if you would mind giving your view on two photo's?

These photo's are off embryos that have been replaced.

I would be interested if you were able to grade the quality and what your view of sucess would be.

I hope you don't mind me asking.

[Carole]

Hi threemonsters,

I would score them at about 3BB (blastocoel cavity less than half the volume of the embryo, still relatively few cells in ICM and trophectoderm) but that is really meaningless because all blastocysts as they develop will move through the stages, so the 3BB this morning could be a 6AA (completely hatched blastocysts) in a few hours. So what I would say is that you should feel good about the fact that all of them are at the blastocyst stage of development because that is an accomplishment that bodes well for implantation. One is starting to hatch which suggests it is continuing to grow and press its way out of the shell, also a good sign. So don't worry about grades, they can tell you which blastocyst in a group have passed which milestones at the assessment time but not so much about implantation potential because as I said, it's a continuum of development and with several days of " uterine implantation readiness", there is ample time for these blasts to hatch and implant inside you. Good Luck!! Carole