The surrounding membrane of the transferred embryos naturally cracks or thins when they reach the blastocyst stage. This process is called hatching. When the membrane is breached, the blastocyst emerges from the zona pellucida and directly contacts the endometrial tissue, facilitating the implantation process. In some cases, this process may be difficult or fail to occur. Assisted Hatching refers to the procedure of thinning or fully breaching the outer membrane surrounding the embryo before the embryo transfer in IVF treatments. Creating a small opening in the zona pellucida facilitates natural hatching. The purpose of this procedure is to increase the chances of successful implantation. It is particularly necessary to perform this procedure on the outer membranes of frozen-thawed embryos.

Assisted Hatching procedure can be performed using various methods (mechanical, acid tyroide, or laser). At our center, Assisted Hatching is performed using laser. It is a reliable and practical technique.

• If there is a history of repeated IVF failures,
• If the woman is over the age of 35,
• Prior to frozen embryo transfer,
• In the presence of a thick zona pellucida (>15 µm),
• In cases of abnormal Zona Pellucida, especially when the zona pellucida is completely or partially bilaminar in oval-shaped oocytes and embryos,
• In cases of dark cytoplasm,
• Assisted Hatching should be performed, particularly in the presence of widespread cytoplasmic fragmentation.