We’ve covered many other articles and blogs in Embryology, but in this segment we’ll be focussing on career as an embryologist. Lot of science graduates and post graduates have an ever-pondering question as to which stream of science they should select as a career after they complete their graduation / post-graduation.
So, in this segment we are going to discuss or rather learn about the various prospects that one can have with embryology as a career.
What does this special segment cover?
• Market survey on infertility rates
• Reasons for IVF services blooming in India
• Role of an embryologist
• Educational qualifications required
• Career map of an embryologist
• Scope of embryology and the advances in the field
To begin with, we need to understand what embryology is all about. The scientific definition of the term embryology is the study of prenatal development of gametes that is the sex cells or the eggs and the sperms and the development of embryos and the foetuses. Or in simple words, it is the study that starts with the fertilization of an egg and the sperm and continues till the foetus stage. Additionally, it also includes the study of congenital disorders that may occur before the birth of a baby.
The primary objective of gaining knowledge in this field is to help the infertile couple overcome the problem of infertility and help them have a baby with the help of assisted reproductive technologies or the ART technologies, and to accomplish this an embryologist with a good educational background and a thorough practical knowledge of ART procedures are in great demand.
Throwing some light on the topic of infertility, according to the latest ISAR consensus i.e. Indian Society of Assisted Reproduction, about 10-15% of the population or in other words one in every six couples in India are infertile which is a remarkable number. If you were to observe the rise of IVF Centres in Bangalore and across the globe, we see that according to the market survey conducted by Elite Market Research, IVF services market would garner around 26.38 billion dollars by the end of 2020. One of the major reasons for such a steep rise being rising global infertility rates. In such a scenario, IVF has proved to be a boon that gives
Reasons for IVF services market blooming in India
1. Rising number of infertile couples. The reasons for this could be changing lifestyle patterns, late marriages etc.
2. Cheap healthcare giving rise to medical tourism. As compared to other countries, the IVF treatment in India is relatively cheaper which attracts a lot of infertile couples approaching Indian hospitals for the treatment.
3. Rise in single super-speciality hospitals.
As compared in the past decade, there has been a rise in single super-speciality
IVF hospitals which wasn't the case earlier. So, this was in brief the analysis of the trend in IVF market.
Roles and Responsibilities of an Embryologist
• An embryologist works along with a gynaecologist in assessing the causes of infertility in a couple and help them conceive.
• They do the semen analysis, they optimize protocols for IUI treatments, maintenance of the embryology lab, responsible for egg retrieval, ICSI etc., cryopreservation of sperms, oocytes and embryos, embryo transfer, genetic testing and assisted hatching are few more responsibilities of an embryologist.
Embryology Course Eligibility CriteriaThe educational qualifications required to become an embryologist or the embryology course eligibility criteria is any candidate who has passed bachelor's or master's degree in life sciences like zoology, biochemistry, microbiology, applied microbiology, biotechnology, genetics, molecular biology or MEBS, BDS, veterinary sciences, homeopathies and ayurveda all are eligible to become an embryologist.
Having discussed about the role and responsibilities, let us now see where an embryologist can find a place for themselves in the IVF market.
• An embryologist can work both in diagnostics and therapeutic clinics, as an entomologist lab technician, in government or private hospitals, as a lab manager and with some experience and rigorous training in the lab skills and management, one can find a position as a lab manager or a lab director, in the research team, as a scientist, as trainers, as quality inspectors, as animal embryologists.
• One can qualify for animal embryologist positions at a university research lab and with a doctoral degree
• One can become a professor at research university that provides you with resources to conduct embryonic studies.
So, these are the some of the opportunities that an embryologist can look out for.
Scope of embryology
In 1978 the world witnessed the birth of the first IVF baby and since then there has been an explosive advancement in the art technology. The technological advancements being developed and perfected currently hold the potential to change the field in a dramatic way. Indeed, what was in 1978 perceived by many as a controversial medical curiosity has radically changed the prognosis of couples suffering from infertility and is responsible for an increasing portion of world's birth rate and today there are 8 million IVF babies born through this technology and can we say 8 million happy families.
Advancements in Embryology
Major milestones in perfecting IVF were developed. Therefore, embryology is a field which is constantly improving and one can keep refining his skills. Few of the latest advancements in this field are invent of
• ICSI
• Embryoscope
• Embryo or sperm freezing
• Egg donation programs
• PGD
• PGS
• Non-traditional families, and gene editing.
Enlisted below is the pay scale structure of embryologists in different companies across India.
• Embryologist | Exp: 1-5 Years | 17 Lakhs | Jaipur |
• Senior Embryologist | Exp: 7 Years | 29 Lakhs | Bangalore |
• Senior Embryologist | Exp: 6 Years | 17 Lakhs | Agra |
• Senior Clinical Embryologist | Exp: 5.7 Years | 16.5 Lakhs | Hubli |
• Freelance Embryologist | Exp: 5 Years | 14.7 Lakhs | Mumbai |
We can see that as per the experience there is growth in the pay scales. Therefore, embryology is the field where there is sustainable growth. From this analysis we understand that there is a huge demand for good embryologists.
At Medline Academics, we have state of art lab with skilled trainers and advanced instrumentation for training. In our journey of last 4 decades, we have realized that there is a severe dearth of embryologists and support staff in the field of infertility. This is resulting in compromised treatment. So, Medline Academics along with the clinical venture – Dr. Kamini Rao Hospitals’ endeavour is to address this gap. Padma Shri Prof. Dr. Kamini A. Rao being pioneer for 40 years in infertility treatment, we have taken the onus of continuous medical education as a part of our mission. This institution offers multiple short term, long term and
Fellowship in Embryology.
Dr. Kamini Rao Hospitals, the clinical unit of Medline Academics (formerly known as IIRRH) is one the leading IVF centre in Bangalore and employing many skilled embryologists from across India. Recently, we’ve been getting queries about embryo glue. Is there any technique to increase the success rate of our pregnancy, so now we will discuss about embryo glue.
Q: What is embryo glue, how does it work, in which patients it is applied and how is it applied, what are the benefits of it and does it have an effect on the embryo or does it have an effect on the upcoming pregnancy or not?
A: Embryo glue is a type of media which can be used in both fresh embryo transfer and frozen embryo transfer, it is put in the petri dish before the embryo transfer with the embryo and after a few hours the embryo is transferred to the uterus.
Q: What does it do, it increases the implantation rate, the pregnancy rate, some researches have come, due to which the pregnancy rate increases?
A: Now, it is not that due to using embryo glue, the success rate is 100%, there is nothing like that, but yes, by applying embryo glue, using embryo glue, the success rate improves, your chances of pregnancy increase. In this centre, we have used a lot of patient space and found that it increases the success rate. There are many patients who have recurrent implantation failure, so we are using a lot of embryo glue to improve their success rate.
Q: But, Is it Safe?
A: Embryo glue does not have any adverse effects on your embryo and the baby due to its embryo; the glue is completely safe.
