Egg donors > What happens after egg collection

What happens after Egg Collection?

Following egg collection the eggs are placed in small dishes and kept in an incubator for the remainder of the day. Later, a prepared semen sample from the recipient’s partner is placed with the eggs. These dishes are left in the incubator overnight to allow fertilisation to take place. The following morning there should be signs that fertilisation has occurred with embryos starting to form.

Fertilised eggs are embryos and they should develop and divide, ready for transfer into the uterus (womb) of the recipient several days after fertilisation has occurred.

The Embryo Transfer

Embryo transfer happens three to five days after egg collection when the best one or two embryos are selected by the embryologist and placed in the womb of the recipient. During this procedure an ultrasound scan is used to guide and place the embryos to where they have the highest chance of implantation. Guidelines allow the transfer of a maximum of two embryos and the decision about the number to be transferred ultimately belongs to the clinical team.

If there are any remaining embryos, and you have given your consent, these are assessed for suitability to be frozen for the couple for their future use.

Embryos and Blastocysts

Life starts as two, then four, then eight cell embryos.

The cells of the embryo keep dividing on a daily basis until they reach a cluster of cells. At this stage, the embryo becomes a blastocyst. It is usually Day 5 after egg collection and by transferring a blastocyst, it is at the ideal stage of development which gives the recipient the very best chance of becoming pregnant.

(Photographs courtesy of Guy’s and St. Thomas’ Assisted Conception Unit)