Hospital fertility laser to help pregnancy chances

The laser will be used by the team at the Shropshire and Mid Wales Fertility Centre

A hospital fertility centre will get a laser to help improve the chances of patients becoming pregnant.

The Shropshire and Mid Wales Fertility Centre will use the laser to maximise the survival rate of frozen embryos.

The League of Friends of Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital paid £33,000 for the equipment with money its fundraising committee had generated over the year.

The laser makes a tiny hole in the outer shell of the five-day-old embryos, to ensure they fully absorb the freezing fluid, said the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust.

It said the laser would also be fired at the tails of sperm showing low movement to see if it was viable.

Paula Gardner, interim chief nursing officer, said: "The laser offers us increased opportunities to improve the rates of conception, which will then hopefully lead to healthy successful pregnancies."