How we ensure quality control in our IVF Lab

1. BLASTOCYST TRANSFER AND QUALITY CONTROL
Dr. Sai, Chief Embryologist , Malpani Infertility Clinic Pvt. Ltd.
A good IVF Clinic routinely does Blastocyst Transfers for all their patients. In order to ensure we have
enough blastocysts, it’s very important to ensure Good Quality Control .
We need to religiously maintain our equipment in proper working conditions, which is why we check the
CO2 Concentration, pH and Temperature of our CO2 incubators regularly,
We maintain Log books, because an incubator which functions properly is critical as far as fertilization ,
Embryo growth and Blastocyst conversion is concerned. This is why it is very important to check that
that all equipments work properly, as even the slightest of variation can affect the Blastocyst conversion
rate.
Good IVF Clinics have Skilled Embryologists , who use a CO2 analyzer, ph meter and a digital
Thermometer in their Lab, which helps them to keep their Incubators working properly.
Co2 Analyzer
Picture of CO2 incubator
Picture of CO2 Analyzer

2. The Culture Media, which we use in our IVF Lab, needs 6% Co2 concentration to achieve optimum ph of
Media which is 7.2 to 7.4. We make sure the our Incubators work well at 6% co2 by checking the Co2
concentration using the Co2 Analyzer.
Frequency of Co2 Checking
Co2 Concentration can be checked once in a week , and mandatorily after cleaning, decontaminating
and restarting the Incubator.
We also make sure that the we change the Co2 Cylinders once they are half empty, as there are very
high chances of the Co2 cylinder having Impurities at the bottom half of the Cylinder, which can have an
effect on the embryo growth and Embryo Quality.
So it is important that we change the Co2 cylinder as soon as the Pressure gauge drops below half
Thermometer
Digital Thermometer

3. We use a digital Thermometer to Check the temperature of all our equipments, including the incubator
and the surface of all our heated stages. Embryos need to be pampered to keep them happy !

4. We also keep a mercury Thermometer inside the Co2 Incubator which allows us to easily check the
Temperature of the Incubator , without opening the glass door and avoiding the Co2 drop
Digital pH Meter

5. We use a digital ph meter to check the pH of the Culture media. It needs 3 point Calibration before
use.We use 3 buffers to calibrate it , and make sure that it works well before we check the pH of culture
media. The 26.0C refers to room temperature on this screen.
Frequency of ph Checking
We should Check the pH Mandatorily for every new batch of Culture media, and after cleaning and
restarting the Co2 incubator .
IVF labs without their own CO2 Analyzer, pH meter and digital Thermometers, would never be confident
about their Blastocyst Conversion rate. This is because incubators are electronic equipment , and their
CO2 concentration and temperature are bound to vary over time.
This is why it is important to check the CO2 , pH and Temperature of all equipment to get optimum
fertilization and blastocyst conversion rate.
The best bio-assay is to monitor the blastocyst conversion rate, and at Malpani Infertility Clinic we
expect this to be around 30 -50% .