Are All Labs Created Equal?

The embryology laboratory is often the least understood part of a patient’s care despite having a critical impact on a patient’s success. Recognizing this, Coastal Fertility Specialists has made a sizeable investment in a state-of-the art embryology laboratory run by subspecialty trained laboratory personnel who help provide some of the leading pregnancy rates in the nation.  The focus on high quality embryology care, regardless of cost, has become one the greatest advantages for Coastal Fertility Specialists!

Our outstanding team of embryologists achieve pregnancy rates well above the national average by taking extra steps to care for your embryos through the use of isolettes, third generation incubators and the latest incubation media with the exact nutrients your embryos need. As you can see below, the extra effort makes a difference! Complete pregnancy rate data can be found at www.SART.org

Embryology Procedures Coastal Fertility Performs to Enhance Pregnancy Rates

Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection

To aid in the fertilization process, especially in couples with male factor infertility, our team can perform ICSI. This involves placing an individual sperm into the cytoplasm of an egg.  Careful manipulation of egg and sperm are critical for this procedure and are performed with the use of a specialized microscope and micro-manipulation tools.

Preimplantation Genetic Screening

Some patients may elect to genetically screen embryos for aneuploidy (abnormal chromosomes). This requires a biopsy of the embryo in which a laser is used to carefully remove cells from the trophectoderm layer (placental cells). The cells from each embryo are then analyzed for chromosome make-up. This technique requires a special skill set and careful handling of the embryos to avoid embryo damage.

Oocyte Cryopreservation (Egg Freezing)

For women who elect to freeze eggs instead of embryos, it is critical to have an embryology team who is proficient in ooctye freezing techniques. Interestingly, freezing eggs is one of the most difficult procedures to perform well and requires special training for an embryologist. Our team at Coastal Fertility Specialists has been awarded national recognition for oocyte cryopreservation.

Accreditations

Coastal Fertility Specialists has chosen and passed the highest standards in laboratory accreditation. We are members of the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART) and are fully accredited as a high complexity laboratory from the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA), the College of American Pathologists (CAP), The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities (AAAASF). We comply with all local, state and federal guidelines. Laboratory Team