Intrauterine tissue culture has become a new hope for couples who cannot conceive despite repeated in vitro fertilization treatments and whose embryos develop slowly or poorly.
A small tissue sample taken from the uterus on the 21st day of menstruation is separated under laboratory conditions, a culture medium is created with the patient's own blood serum, and the necessary cells are multiplied and frozen. The patient is then taken to in vitro fertilization treatment. When egg collection is performed, frozen samples are thawed and an artificial intrauterine tissue, which we call co-culture, is created. After in vitro fertilization is performed and fertilization is observed, the resulting embryos are grown in this tissue until the transfer process. Since the woman's own intrauterine (endometrium) cells are used during this procedure, jaundice, AIDS and other risky conditions are excluded.
Endometrial cells do not harm the development of the embryo, ensure its continuation of development and increase the chance of growth. In the co-culture environment, the relationship between the embryo and the intrauterine tissue develops similar to that in the body, and the embryo and the cells of the uterine wall of the expectant mother become acquainted with each other and get used to each other. Growth factors and nutrients contained in co-culture fluids, which are rich in factors and proteins necessary for embryo development, support embryo development. In addition, antioxidants formed in the environment remove residues that may be harmful to the embryo from the embryo environment. These proteins and growth factors are very limited in the ready-to-use artificial culture environment for in vitro fertilization. Therefore, in patients who fail repeated in vitro fertilization treatment, co-culture constitutes an alternative to ready-made culture fluids. Preparation of endometrial co-culture requires intensive labor and technical infrastructure, and personnel with special training in this field is needed.
Who is co-culture suitable for?
This method is not applied to all patients undergoing in vitro fertilization. It is suitable for patients over the age of 40, patients with previous unsuccessful in vitro fertilization attempts, patients with high FSH, and patients with low response to drug treatments.
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