From the recent Fertility Society of Australia meeting in Sydney, I am pleased to note that the endometrial scratch technique which involves gently scraping the lining of the uterus (endometrium), in the cycle before a planned IVF cycle, appears to improve subsequent IVF outcomes including live birth rates. More trials are needed in this area but it does appear promising.
HSPA 2 and unexplained failure of fertilisation in IVF. Some sperm lack the ability to recognise and bind to the egg that they are supposed to fertilise. When HSPA levels are depleted in infertile male patients, it appears that fertilisation is impaired and these sperm just don’t know where to go. We look forward to more research in this area.