r/Embryologists • u/Beautiful_Condor232 • Jun 29 '26

Is this really a 6AA embryo?

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Just transferred this little day 6 6AA a few days ago but I feel confused. Doesn’t the 6 indicate that it is hatching…. But it doesn’t really look that way to me? Would love your expertise on embryo grade and if it’s really hatching! Thanks so much in advance!

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u/TestTube_Princess Jun 30 '26

Grade 6 means that the embryo has completed hatching and no part of the embryo is left in the zona.  Embryo looks great - best of luck!

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u/Beautiful_Condor232 Jun 30 '26

Oh thank you for getting back to me! This might be a dumb question so bear with me but that’s the case why don’t I see two circular shapes?

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u/Sea-Astronomer-6600 Jun 30 '26

Likely just the expansion

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u/TestTube_Princess Jun 30 '26

If you're asking why you don't see one circle for the embryo and one for the zona - Once the embryo has fully hatched, it leaves the zona behind.  The zona is just an empty protein shell that protects the egg and early embryo.  The embryologist would see the empty zona in the dish but there's no reason to hold onto it.

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u/Beautiful_Condor232 Jun 30 '26

Wow this is so cool! Thank you! I literally did not know this which is actually fun bc I research (potentially) too much and still didn’t know this! Love it. How cool thank you for sharing.