What is embryo glue and how does it work? (Ask The Egg Whisperer)

On the podcast today, I’m answering a question from Phylicia who wrote in to Ask The Egg Whisperer. She wants to know about embryo glue and how it works. Here’s her question: “Hi Dr. Aimee! I’m 35 and currently doing IVF. I have severe endometriosis with adhesions on both ovaries and patchy adenomyosis on the back wall of my uterus (as seen on a recent MRI). 

I’ve gotten the ok to start ivf and try a fresh transfer and my question is, what are your thoughts on embryo glue? I’m wondering if it makes sense to glue my embryos to the front wall in my uterus since there is no adenomyosis there. Is that a crazy idea?? Does embryo glue work that way?”

This is such a great question, because it gives me a great chance to talk about embryo glue. Here’s the thing. “Embryo glue” is a great marketing term, but it’s not quite what you think it is.  It's just a trademarked name for something that really isn't what it is. 

Don't you feel fooled? I certainly did. When I first learned about it, I was so hopeful thinking it was something that actually works like glue. When you look at the literature and the science behind it, you realize that it’s just a clever name for fluid we use in the lab. It really isn't glue. Every lab has their own special sauce. So talk to your doctor about what their sauce includes. 

At the end of the day, once we put an embryo in, I think of it as a peanut in a chunky peanut butter jar. When you take that chunky peanut butter jar and you shake it, nothing's going to happen to the peanuts inside. But there is no way to stick an embryo to a specific location within the uterus, even though I love the idea itself.

So for you, Phylicia, it is not a crazy idea at all. One day, maybe we're going to use something like that. I imagine, almost like a little robot camera that we can send in with the embryo. We can almost have little joysticks outside and we can show the embryo where to go and direct it into that spot and maybe use something like embryo glue or something like that to get it to implant better.

To submit your own question to Dr. Aimee for a future episode of Ask The Egg Whisperer, click here. 

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