Our Lab
Since the birth of the first in vitro fertilization (IVF) or ‘test tube’ baby in 1978, the field of IVF has been transformed with several technological discoveries that have led to a remarkable expansion of the treatable conditions as well as an outstanding increase in making possible the dreams of many couples to conceive.
The embryology laboratory, where embryos are produced, grown and nourished during an IVF cycle, is one of the key components of a fertility center. While patients don’t necessarily know what happens behind the scenes during an IVF cycle or how their embryos are produced, having a state-of-the-art embryology laboratory is what separates an average from an excellent fertility center.
State of the ART IVF Laboratory
Our newly constructed facility contains the newest and most advanced equipment for the production of healthy embryos. Starting with incubators capable of producing a reduced oxygen environment for culturing embryos to the blastocyst stage on days 5 and 6 of in vitro development, to the latest in micromanipulation and laser equipment for precise and fast microsurgical procedures such as intracytoplasmic sperm injection, assisted hatching and preimplantation genetic diagnosis.
Advanced Particle and Chemical Air Filtration System
The environment were the embryos grow is of paramount importance. It has been shown that the air of the laboratory itself can alter the quality of the embryos produced. Embryos are sensitive to microbes, particles and volatile organic compounds (VOC’s) in the air. “Lets think about it”, says Carlos A. Guerrero, Ph.D, the Laboratory Director at Fertility Specialists of Texas. “Embryos don’t have a defense system like a human organism. Humans have organs such as a liver, kidney and lung to filter and detoxify the body of harmful chemicals that we come in contact with. Also, our immune system will attack anything that gets into our body and remove it.”
Fertility Specialists of Texas has one of the most advanced HVAC (heating ventilation and air conditioning) systems (designed by AlphaEnvironmental, Inc., leader in air quality systems) in the area to overcome this problem. Our system can supply constant temperature and controlled humidity despite climate and seasonal variation to provide a stable environment in order to achieve the maximum performance of all the delicate laboratory equipment. The filtration system contains pre-filters to remove larger particles in the air, HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filters that removes >99.9% of dust particles and microbes >0.3 um in size (300 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair) and chemical filters containing activated carbon and potassium permanganate for the removal of toxic substances and harmful VOC’s.
Clean Room Laboratory Isolation
The laboratory is also isolated from the outside environment by having tightly sealed walls, ceilings, light fixtures utility connections and airtight doors making it ‘impermeable’ to contaminant agents, microbes and airborne toxins from leaking in. The embryology laboratory is held pressurized above the adjacent procedure rooms so that air moves from the embryology lab to the procedure room and out. This would prevent any contaminant or toxin in the air from coming into the lab through the doors. The system is also set up so that if we encounter some sort of serious air pollution such as an outside fire, heavy highway construction or chemical spill that we can switch to a ‘submarine mode’ and we can recirculate the air inside the laboratory instead of using outside air.
This complex system was designed to imitate the defense and detoxification mechanism imposed by the mother during the growth of the embryos inside her body!
At Fertility Specialists of Texas, we designed the embryology laboratory with one thought in mind: “To imitate the human body in order to provide our patients with the best opportunity to take home a baby.”
