ERA: Ensures a successful embryo implantation

-S.P.Chopra (theimagestar@gmail.com)

New Delhi : Planning and opting for IVF pregnancy is a stressful and emotional task for every couple. There are various factors that contribute to IVF failures and one of the most important factors is window of implantation. Researchers in a study have suggested that if a woman is unable to achieve pregnancy even after repeated IVF treatments there is a possibility that these treatments are being performed in the “wrong window of implantation”. About 28% of the IVF cycles are done on the wrong day.

In an IVF treatment, the focus is usually on the quality of the embryos, looking for the ones which are more likely to result into a successful pregnancy after transferring them to the uterus. But in this process, the function of the endometrium, the lining of the uterus which houses the embryo allowing for its implantation, is often forgotten. For successful implantation the lining of the uterus (endometrium) is equally important as the quality of embryos.

Endometrium is the inner lining which is prepared every month to accept the embryo, indeed this is the area where the embryo implants and stays during gestation. Embryo implantation can only be successful if it is carried out between 19-21 days of the menstrual cycle. This is the window of implantation.  It is the personalized timing that’s unique and specific for each woman. There are many couples who are deprived of the joy of parenthood due to a displaced window of implantation.

To help the couples who are suffering from regular implantation failures, Igenomix has introduced a patented test named Endometrial Receptivity Analysis (ERA), after 10 years of research in this field. ERA has given hope to the couples who want to conceive through assisted reproductive technique. ERA is a state of art diagnostic method evaluating the endometrial receptivity and is performed using NGS technology.

ERA determines if the woman is receptive or not, on the day when the biopsy is performed. If the result is positive then that is the window of implantation for that particular patient. Therefore ERA is a personalised genetic test that leads to a “personalised embryo transfer” (PET), a timing based on the test performed on an individual. If the result of the test is negative then a second biopsy is suggested to validate the displacement.