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purple human egg cell under microscope

EmbryoGlue

EmbryoGlue® is an embryo culture medium enriched with a substance called hyaluronan used in the final step of IVF treatment.

Hyaluronan is a natural substance that is present in all the tissues of the body. It is thought to be important in fertility because the levels of hyaluronan increase in the uterus at the time of implantation. EmbryoGlue® is a treatment add-on which be used in the final step of IVF treatment as it has been developed to closely resemble the environment in the womb.

How is EmbyroGlue® used in treatment?

EmbryoGlue® isn’t glue as you know it; it’s made with a substance – hyaluronan – that aims to help the embryo more likely to stick to the lining of the womb. Hyaluronan is a type of carbohydrate found everywhere in the body.  It’s rich in the carbohydrates, amino acids and protein the embryo needs to develop properly, and it also helps to thicken the EmbryoGlue®, which reduces how much the embryo can move around.

If you decide to use EmbryoGlue® in your treatment, it will replace the standard culture medium that we use for embryo transfer following ICSI or IVF. The embryo(s) selected for transfer are placed into EmbryoGlue® and are cultured for a short time up to the point of embryo transfer. The embryo transfer procedure remains the same, although the embryo is transferred in EmbryoGlue®.

There are no known risks from the use of EmbryoGlue® but, based on our experience, we don’t place hatched blastocysts (embryos which have emerged or are emerging from their outer shell) before transfer into EmbryoGlue.

The independent regulator of fertility treatment, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), has developed a new rating system and provides information about treatments that are offered on top of your routine fertility treatment – known as treatment add-ons. Their add-on ratings are based on published evidence, which the HFEA deems to be of suitable quality and quantity. 

For each add-on, ratings are provided for treatment outcomes, and for patient populations, for which this evidence was available at the time. 

The HFEA has given hyaluronate enriched pre-transfer culture medium (e.g. EmbryoGlue) an amber rating, as it is not clear whether this add-on is effective at improving the treatment outcome. There is conflicting evidence.

 

We believe it is important that you have all the information you need before you decide to have treatment using EmbryGlue. We also recommend that you read the information on the HFEA website regarding add-ons and how the ratings were decided, before making a decision.