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Updated: Apr 24, 2026
Morphometric Protocol for the Objective Assessment of Blastocyst Behavior During Vitrification and Warming Steps
Published on: February 28, 2019
Using the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology Clinic Outcome System morphological measures to predict live
Barbara Luke1, Morton B Brown2, Judy E Stern3
1Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan.
Objective:
To model morphological assessments of embryo quality that are predictive of live birth.
Design:
Longitudinal cohort using cycles reported in the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology Clinic Outcomes Reporting System (SART CORS) between 2007 and 2011.
Setting:
Clinic-based data.
Patient(S):
Fresh autologous assisted reproductive technology (ART) cycles with ETs on day 3 or day 5 and morphological assessments reported (25,409 cycles with one embryo transferred and 96,093 cycles with two embryos transferred). Live-birth rates were modeled by morphological assessments using backward-stepping logistic regression for cycle 1 and over five cycles, separately for day 3 and day 5 transfers and number of embryos transferred (1 or 2). Additional models for each day of transfer also included the number of oocytes retrieved and the number of embryos cryopreserved.
Intervention(S):
None.
Main Outcome Measure(S):
Live births.
Result(S):
Morphological assessments of grade, stage, fragmentation, and symmetry were significant for the day 3 models; grade, stage, and trophectoderm were significant in the day 5 model; inner-cell mass was significant in the models when two embryos were transferred. Number of oocytes retrieved and number of embryos cryopreserved were significant for both day 3 and day 5 models.
Conclusion(S):
These findings confirm the significant association between embryo quality parameters reported to SART CORS and live-birth rate after ART.
