Is laser-assisted hatching better than mechanical method for enhancing pregnancy rate in frozen-thawed blastocyst transfer cycles?

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the effect of laser-assisted hatching (LAH) compared with mechanical-assisted hatching (MAH) for enhancing clinical outcomes in frozen-thawed blastocysts (FTBs) transfer cycles. Materials and Methods: The culture of all pronucleate embryos to the blastocyst stage and the selection of blastocysts ≥ grade 3BB (Gardner and Schooleraft score), followed by FTBs transfer cycles with LAH (n=105) or with MAH (n=101). Clinical outcomes including clinical and ongoing pregnancy rates were investigated.Results: There were no significant differences in clinical and ongoing pregnancy rates between LAH and MAH groups in FTBs transfer cycles. Conclusion: LAH does not improve pregnancy outcomes significantly compared to MAH in FTBs transfer cycles.

Keywords

• laser-assisted hatching
• mechanical-assisted hatching
• frozen-thawed blastocyst