Episode 4 From Egg Retrieval to Embryo Transfer

Aug 20

EPISODE 4: Jessica Manns

We talk about egg retrievals, fertilization, embryo grading, and blastocysts all the time on this podcast - but most of us never actually meet the people doing this work behind the lab doors. Today, that changes.

I'm so excited to welcome Jessica Manns to the show. Jessica is a senior embryologist and laboratory supervisor at Radiance Fertility who's been in the field since 2018, and she's made it her mission to help patients actually understand what's happening throughout the IVF process - not just live through it, but feel informed and empowered along the way. You probably already know her from Explaining IVF, her Instagram platform breaking down the science in a way that actually makes sense, or from her two books, The Trying Time and The Busy Little Embryo. She's also a huge advocate in our community and has served as a gestational surrogate herself, which gives her a perspective on this journey that very few people in this field have - both through the microscope and through the human side of it.

If you've ever wondered what's really happening to your eggs and embryos once they disappear behind that lab door, this episode is for you.

What We Cover:

What actually happens after your egg retrieval - how embryologists find and identify the eggs in the follicular fluid
ICSI vs. conventional fertilization, and how sperm quality plays a bigger role than we often talk about
Embryo grading, demystified - what the Gardner scale numbers and letters actually mean (and why grading is more subjective than people think)
Do frozen embryos "downgrade"? The truth about freezing, thawing, and embryo damage
PGT testing - who Jessica recommends it for, and how age factors into that conversation
Transfer day - what happens in the lab while the doctor is doing your transfer
The ultra-fast thaw protocol Jessica helped develop, and how it's changing thaw times
Behind Explaining IVF - how Jessica's Instagram page and her books, The Trying Time and The Busy Little Embryo, came to be
Jessica's own surrogacy journey - why she chose to become a gestational surrogate, and what that experience taught her
Her best advice for anyone in the middle of their own IVF journey