Assisted Hatching (AH) is an assisted reproduction technique that can be used in the IVF lab with the resulting embryos. AH involves the penetration of the zona pellucida that recovers the embryos using a laser. It is performed on day 3 of embryo development.
AH allows the blastocyst to leave the zona pellucida, thereby increasing the implantation potential of embryos. Given that it is an invasive technique that carries some risks, it is indicated in the following cases only: patients who are 37 or over, embryos with a thick, dark or abnormal zona pellucida, multinuclear embryos, previous implantation failure, developmentally delayed cleavage-stage embryos, too high FSH levels, poor responders.