Abstract
Purpose
The objective of this study was to obtain expanded blastocysts following intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and Verocell coculture, cryopreserve them at this stage, and transfer the frozenthawed blastocysts to obtain pregnancies.
Methods
Twentytwo couples with severe malefactor infertility or failed fertilization in a previous in vitro fertilization cycle were included in this study. ICSI was performed for all of them, and sperminjected oocytes were immediately subjected to Verocell coculture for varying intervals. Then 14 couples were treated by embryo transfer at the four to eightcell stage (Group I), whereas 8 couples were treated by transfer of frozenthawed blastocysts (Group II).
Results
Percentages of cleaved embryos and term survival rates were 57.1 and 73.3% for Group I and 50.0 and 37.5% for Group II, respectively.
Conclusions
Blastocysts obtained after ICSI and Verocell coculture can retain developmental competence after cryopreservation and thawing. Transfer of frozenthawed blastocysts derived by these means holds promise for establishment of viable pregnancies.
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Servy, E.J., Kaufmann, R.A., Liu, Z. et al. Human pregnancies after transfer of fresh (four-to eight-cell) versus frozen-thawed blastocysts resulting from intracytoplasmic sperm injection. J Assist Reprod Genet 15, 422–426 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02744935
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02744935