Vitrification

Having the ability to preserve embryos is important service to our patients. Fertility units, worldwide, have used the same "freezing" technique for the last 25 years - with little modification.

One of the major hurdles of "freezing" is that ice crystal formation is VERY damaging to embryos - this hurdle has never really been overcome. This is one of the reasons that even the most capable IVF Units rarely achieve that same results with frozen embryos that they were getting with fresh embryos.

Vitrification works on a completely different principle for cryo-storing embryos. Vitrification addresses the problem of ice crytal formation and allows for a reliable and successful cryopreservation of your embryo(s). It is a "glass like" state in which the embryo is suspended among high concentrations of cryoprotectants in liquid nitrogen.

Barbados Fertility Centre continues to improve upon the treatments it provides. We introduced Vitrification in 2006 and have been delighted with the results.

The embryo survival rates are impressive and this has resulted in our "frozen" embryo pregnancy rates being almost equal to those of our fresh embryo transfers.