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OverviewHistoryThe EvidenceFAQs
Genea has been developing and using its own culture media, a vital solution that nurtures eggs, sperm, and embryos outside the body, for more than two decades. What began as in-house research in the early 1990s has evolved into a globally adopted suite of media, now manufactured and distributed by Genea Biomedx and used by IVF laboratories around the world.

What is embryo culture media?

When an egg is fertilised in the IVF laboratory, the resulting embryo needs to grow in an environment that closely replicates the conditions inside the human body. Culture media is a carefully formulated solution that provides the environment by supplying the nutrients, energy substrates, amino acids, and buffering agents an embryo needs to develop from fertilisation through to the blastocyst stage on Day 5.

Getting this solution right matters enormously. The composition of the media, its stability over time, and how well it supports each stage of embryo development all have a direct bearing on whether an embryo reaches the blastocyst stage and ultimately on the chances of a successful pregnancy.

Sequential vs continuous culture: what's the difference?

Sequential culture uses two different media, with a change at Day 3, while continuous culture uses a single formulation that supports the embryo from fertilisation to Day 5 or 6.
For most of IVF's history, embryos were cultured in sequential media: one formulation for the cleavage stage and a different formulation from Day 3 onwards to support blastocyst development. The purpose of this approach was to match the changing nutritional needs of the embryo at different developmental stages.
The limitation is that changing the media requires handling the embryo, which briefly disrupts the carefully controlled temperature and pH environment the embryo needs to thrive.
Today, continuous culture media, such as Geri media, are formulated to support development from fertilisation through to Day 5 or 6 without any media changes. 

Continuous culture media eliminates the need to handle embryos mid-culture. Combined with time-lapse monitoring, it means an embryo can develop from fertilisation to the blastocyst stage without ever leaving its controlled environment. - Dean Morbeck, Chief Scientific Officer at Genea Fertility Sydney

The published evidence from Genea scientists

Genea's approach to culture media is backed by published research from our own scientists.

A study conducted across six Genea laboratories between 2015 and 2019 compared outcomes from the Geri continuous culture media and time-lapse incubator against the previous standard of sequential media and the MINC incubator. The study found that the Geri® incubator resulted in a 12.2% increase in the number of live births compared with traditional incubation systems.1

The combination of Genea's continuous culture media and the Geri time-lapse incubator has been proven to deliver a meaningful improvement in live birth rates compared to the previous standard of care from traditional systems. - Dean Morbeck, Chief Scientific Officer at Genea Fertility Sydney

How embryo culture media work within the IVF process

The right culture media is a crucial part of the foundation supporting other key steps in the IVF process, including:
  • The Geri® time-lapse incubator was designed to work in combination with continuous culture media. Because the media supports development for the full five days without needing to be changed, embryos can remain completely undisturbed in their individual chambers, which are monitored continuously via camera rather than being removed for assessment. 
  • Blastocyst culture relies on a culture media capable of supporting embryo development for the full 5 to 6 days. The quality of the media is directly related to the number of embryos that reach the blastocyst stage.
  • Single embryo transfer depends on having enough high-quality blastocysts to select from. Therefore, media that supports robust blastocyst development is essential to making confident single embryo selection possible.
 

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FAQs

References

  1. Peura, T., Murray, A., Hesketh, N., Dalati, S., Bowman, M., & McArthur, S. (2020). Is the biggest impact on clinical IVF outcomes obtained by implementation of continuous media, time-lapse incubator or both? Fertility and Sterility, 114(3 Suppl.), e129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2020.08.383 

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