Number of biopsied trophectoderm cells is likely to affect the implantation potential of blastocysts with poor trophectoderm quality

Abstract

To evaluate whether the developmental potential of the blastocyst is affected by the number of trophectoderm (TE) cells biopsied in preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) cycles. Retrospective study. University-affiliated center. Women underwent PGD cycles of blastocyst biopsy and fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis. Not applicable. Biopsied TEcell number of blastocysts, survival, and implantation rates. The biopsied TEcell number was affected by the TE quality and experience of different embryologists. The diagnostic efficiency increased when from one to five cells were biopsied (86.7%, 91.7%%, 96.0%, 96.8%, to 98.7%) and was maximized when more than six cells were biopsied. To compare the clinical efficiencies, blastocysts were divided into four groups according to biopsied TEcell number: 1-5, 6-10, 11-15, and 16-41. For the blastocysts with grade ATE score, no significant difference was observed in the survival and implantation rates among the four groups. For the blastocysts with grades B and CTE scores, the survival rates showed no significant differences among the four groups, but a significant decreasing trend in implantation rates was observed with increasing biopsied TEcell number. The implantation potential is negatively affected by the biopsied TEcell number in blastocysts with poor TE morphological score.