Fertility and Sterility
Volume 91, Issue 2 , Pages 401-406 , February 2009

The value of fast blastocoele re-expansion in the selection of a viable thawed blastocyst for transfer

  • Yimin Shu, M.D., Ph.D.
    • ,
  • Jill Watt, Ph.D.
    • ,
  • Janice Gebhardt, B.S.
    • ,
  • Jennifer Dasig, M.S.
    • ,
  • Julie Appling, M.S.
    • ,
  • Barry Behr, Ph.D.

      Affiliations

    • Corresponding Author InformationReprint requests: Barry Behr, Ph.D., H.C.L.D., In Vitro Fertilization Program, Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Stanford University, 900 Welch Road, Suite 14, Palo Alto, CA 94304 (FAX: 650-736-7036).

Received 8 August 2007 ,Revised 26 November 2007 ,Accepted 27 November 2007.

References 

  1. Trounson A, Mohr L. Human pregnancy following cryopreservation, thawing and transfer of an eight-cell embryo. Nature. 1983;305:707–709
  2. Pantos K, Stefanidis K, Pappas K, Kokkinopoulos P, Petroutsou G, Kokkali G, et al. Cryopreservation of embryos, blastocysts, and pregnancy rates of blastocysts derived from frozen-thawed embryos and frozen-thawed blastocysts. J Assist Reprod Genet. 2001;18:579–582
  3. Behr B, Gebhardt J, Lyon J, Milki AA. Factors relating to a successful cryopreserved blastocyst transfer program. Fertil Steril. 2002;77:697–699
  4. Kosasa TS, McNamee PI, Morton C, Huang TT. Pregnancy rates after transfer of cryopreserved blastocysts cultured in a sequential media. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2005;192:2035–2040
  5. Veeck LL, Bodine R, Clarke RN, Berrios R, Libraro J, Moschini RM, et al. High pregnancy rates can be achieved after freezing and thawing human blastocysts. Fertil Steril. 2004;82:1418–1427
  6. Edgar DH, Archer J, Gook DA, Jericho H, Wilton L, Bourne H. Survival and developmental potential of stored human early cleavage stage embryos. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol. 2004;115(Suppl 1):S8–S11
  7. Van der Elst J, Van den Abbeel E, Vitrier S, Camus M, Devroey P, Van Steirteghem AC. Selective transfer of cryopreserved human embryos with further cleavage after thawing increases delivery and implantation rates. Hum Reprod. 1997;12:1513–1521
  8. Rienzi L, Nagy ZP, Ubaldi F, Iacobelli M, Anniballo R, Tesarik J, et al. Laser-assisted removal of necrotic blastomeres from cryopreserved embryos that were partially damaged. Fertil Steril. 2002;77:1196–1201
  9. Hardy K, Handyside AH, Winston RM. The human blastocyst: cell number, death and allocation during late preimplantation development in vitro. Development. 1989;107:597–604
  10. Guerif F, Cadoret V, Poindron J, Lansac J, Royere D. Overnight incubation improves selection of frozen-thawed blastocysts for transfer: preliminary study using supernumerary embryos. Theriogenology. 2003;60:1457–1466
  11. Cohen J, Simons RF, Edwards RG, Fehilly CB, Fishel SB. Pregnancies following the frozen storage of expanding human blastocysts. J In Vitro Fert Embryo Transf. 1985;2:59–64
  12. Fehilly CB, Cohen J, Simons RF, Fishel SB, Edwards RG. Cryopreservation of cleaving embryos and expanded blastocysts in the human: a comparative study. Fertil Steril. 1985;44:638–644
  13. Shu Y, Gebhardt J, Watt J, Lyon J, Dasig D, Behr B. Fertilization, embryo development, and clinical outcome of immature oocytes from stimulated intracytoplasmic sperm injection cycles. Fertil Steril. 2007;87:1022–1027
  14. Desai N, Goldfarb J. Examination of frozen cycles with replacement of a single thawed blastocyst. Reprod Biomed Online. 2005;11:349–354
  15. Offenberg H, Thomsen PD. Functional challenge affects aquaporin mRNA abundance in mouse blastocysts. Mol Reprod Dev. 2005;71:422–430
  16. Fabian D, Gjorret JO, Berthelot F, Martinat-Botte F, Maddox-Hyttel P. Ultrastructure and cell death of in vivo derived and vitrified porcine blastocysts. Mol Reprod Dev. 2005;70:155–165
  17. Biggers JD, Bell JE, Benos DJ. Mammalian blastocyst: transport functions in a developing epithelium. Am J Physiol. 1988;255(4 Pt 1):C419–C432
  18. Vajta G, Hyttel P, Callesen H. Morphological changes of in-vitro-produced bovine blastocysts after vitrification, in-straw direct rehydration, and culture. Mol Reprod Dev. 1997;48:9–17
  19. El-Toukhy T, Khalaf Y, Al-Darazi K, Andritsos V, Taylor A, Braude P. Effect of blastomere loss on the outcome of frozen embryo replacement cycles. Fertil Steril. 2003;79:1106–1111
  20. Fair T, Lonergan P, Dinnyes A, Cottell DC, Hyttel P, Ward FA, et al. Ultrastructure of bovine blastocysts following cryopreservation: effect of method of blastocyst production. Mol Reprod Dev. 2001;58:186–195
  21. Boni R, Tosti E, Roviello S, Dale B. Intercellular communications in in vivo- and in vitro-produced bovine embryos. Biol Reprod. 1999;61:1050–1055
  22. Leibo SP, Loskutoff NM. Cryobiology of in vitro-derived bovine embryos. Theriogenology. 1993;39:81–94
  23. Zhu SE, Zeng SM, Yu WL, Li SJ, Zhang ZC, Chen YF. Vitrification of in vivo and in vitro produced ovine blastocysts. Anim Biotechnol. 2001;12:193–203
  24. Gardner DK, Lane M, Stevens J, Schoolcraft WB. Changing the start temperature and cooling rate in slow-freezing protocol increases human blastocyst viability. Fertil Steril. 2003;79:407–410
  25. Gardner DK, Pawelczynski M, Trounson AO. Nutrient uptake and utilization can be used to select viable day 7 bovine blastocysts after cryopreservation. Mol Reprod Dev. 1996;44:472–475

 Presented in part at the Conjoint Meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine 61st Annual Meeting and the Canadian Fertility and Andrology Society 51st Annual Meeting, October 15–19, 2005, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

PII: S0015-0282(07)04148-9

doi: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2007.11.083

Fertility and Sterility
Volume 91, Issue 2 , Pages 401-406 , February 2009

Article Tools

* Image Usage & Resolution