In the next step, the harvested eggs are then fertilized.
If the sperm from the potential father, or in some cases, anonymous donor, has normal functionality, the eggs and sperm are placed together in a dish with a nutrient fluid, then incubated overnight to fertilize normally. If the sperm functionality is suboptimal, an embryologist uses Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection to inject a single sperm into a single egg with an extremely precise glass needle.
Once fertilization is complete, the embryos are assessed and prepared to be transferred to the patient’s uterus.