Inside the IVF Lab: What Do Embryologists Do at CCRM Fertility?

When completing an IVF cycle at CCRM Fertility, you’ll interact regularly with your provider, the front desk staff, phlebotomists, sonographers, and the rest of your supportive team. But behind the scenes are the embryologists, highly skilled and experienced scientists who nurture eggs, sperm, and embryos in our CCRM IVF lab, playing a vital role in turning hope into a healthy pregnancy.

They’re the ones checking for ooctyes (eggs) during an egg retrieval, fertilizing them with sperm, watching them grow into embryos (the earliest stage of development), and prepping your embryo for transfer. Much of our impressive success rates are due to the work these embryologists do in our state-of-the-art, award-winning CCRM labs.

In honor of World Embryology Day on July 25 (which is celebrated every year on the birthday of the world’s first-ever IVF baby, Louise Joy Brown), three CCRM embryology leaders shared insights into the embryologist’s role at each stage of an IVF cycle, the importance of quality control in a fertility lab (the embryologists even do their own janitorial work!), and what makes the CCRM IVF labs so special.

Featuring:

Bec Holmes, Senior Vice President, Lab Operations
Joe Conaghan, Director, Science and Training
Alex Lagunov,  Director of Lab Technology

First things first: What is an embryologist and what do they do?

Joe Conaghan (JC): An embryologist is a scientist that works with gametes (sperm and oocytes) and embryos inside the IVF laboratory at a fertility clinic. We perform many IVF procedures within the lab, including egg retrieval, egg fertilization, embryo culture, biopsies, and embryo transfers.
Alex Lagunov (AL): We are the caretakers of your eggs and embryos. We ensure they are handled carefully and in an environment that fosters their best developmental potential. The majority of the procedures in the IVF laboratory require a hands-on manual approach by our skilled embryologists, along with the most advanced equipment.  Embryologists are conscientious, diligent, obsessive, and detail-oriented. If you leave your house and leave a light on by mistake, you probably couldn’t be an embryologist.

Many patients may not realize how much embryologists do during the IVF process. Can you give us an overview?

JC: Yes. We have a hand during the egg retrieval, insemination, embryo culture, embryo biopsy for preimplantation genetic testing (PGT), and, finally, the embryo transfer. We go into more detail about the procedures an embryologist performs during IVF HERE.

What training did you complete to become an embryologist?

JC: We are scientists! Every embryologist has a minimum of a college degree in life sciences (Biology/Genetics/Chemistry) and hands-on embryology training in an IVF lab.  There are no colleges or universities that train embryologists.  It takes at least 2 years to become fully trained on all the procedures in the IVF laboratory.  Once an embryologist has 4 years’ experience they can take certification exams and become a laboratory supervisor.  All laboratory directors at CCRM have a PhD and are Board certified in their specialty.

Does each embryologist know how to perform all procedures?

AL: Yes, we are trained to do everything. The lab is staffed every day of the year and we rotate shifts. We each have our favorite procedures, though.

Bec Holmes: I like intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), as I get to see results in 18 hours!
AL: My favorite is embryo transfer because it’s the final most exciting, anticipated, and impactful step in the patient’s journey.

What else does your job entail?

JC: We perform many administrative and management functions.  We physically make sure all equipment is working properly, keep the laboratory in compliance with state and federal agencies, train the next generation of embryologists, and manage and maintain frozen specimens. And since the IVF lab is off limits to other staff, we also do our own janitorial work. The IVF laboratory runs and is electronically monitored 24/7, 365 days a year. If the temperature in an incubator drops by 2 degrees at 3 am on a Sunday, an embryologist will be on site within minutes to address the issue.

Not even physicians are allowed in the IVF lab?!

JC: Only embryologists can enter the IVF lab. That’s because each CCRM lab is a “clean room” where the air is highly purified, and the environment is strictly controlled. If an outside person must enter the lab (e.g. building maintenance personnel), they wear protective clothing and are accompanied by an embryologist at all times.

What makes CCRM labs different?

AL: Over the past decade, the CCRM Fertility network has grown from a single location in Denver, Colorado to 20 full-service IVF laboratories throughout North America and counting. One of our key differentiators is consistency across design, equipment, supplies, safety, and operations.

We dedicate time and resources to internal embryologist training, cutting-edge research, and other tasks that help ensure the CCRM lab remains on the cutting edge to supply the best care possible.

What standards are CCRM IVF laboratories held to? 

AL: Our laboratories are held to the highest standards in North America and accredited by the College of American Pathologists (CAP).  This means our labs undergo yearly inspections and demands constant upkeep of lab protocols, procedures, and operations to achieve accreditation status. All our labs comply with the FDA, CDC, and all state-specific regulations.  In addition to the external standards, the CCRM Fertility network of labs also have internal standards that are reviewed continuously.