Glue

Conditions in the uterus

After natural fertilisation, the embryo moves from the fallopian tubes into the uterus. It finds an optimal environment, which supplies it with nutrients and makes it easier for it to implant in the endometrium.

The composition of the substances in the uterus is very complex. Alongside various nutrients, a further substance is also present in large quantities there: Hyaluronic acid.

Hyaluronic acid surrounds human tissue like a protective film. In the uterus, it also has the important task of enabling the embryo to adhere to the endometrium and implant itself into it.

Some embryos react in a particularly sensitive way to fluctuations in the quantity of hyaluronic acid that is present and sometimes, too little of this is  present on the endometrium. The embryo then cannot implant in an optimal way; therefore, no pregnancy occurs.

Embryo transfer with UTM (GLUE):

If the fertilisation is carried out through the use of in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), the use of what is known as UTM is possible. This is a special medium that contains human albumin and hyaluronic acid.

Scientific experiments have shown that transfer media that contain hyaluronic acid increase the change of the embryo implanting in the endometrium.

Additional information

A summary of the largest studies on this topic is provided by the Cochrane Collaboration. This article can be found at: http://www.cochrane.org/CD007421/MENSTR_adherence-compounds-in-embryo-transfer-media-for-assisted-reproductive-technologies

In this specialist article it is shown that an improvement of the implantation rates, especially in women over the age of 35 years, after unsuccessful embryo transfer and in the case of non-optimal embryos can be observed.

After embryo transfer with UTM, you behave as usual, as after a regular embryo transfer.

The additional costs for the use of UTM are unfortunately not covered by health insurance companies.