In-vitro fertilization is associated with a high rate of multiple pregnancies, a consequence of the number of embryos transferred. There is a challenge in avoiding even twin pregnancies in assisted reproduction, and this can be accomplished with elective single embryo transfer and a good cryopreservation programme. In our follow-up study, we analysed all our elective single embryo transfers dur...

Over a 26 month period 17% of couples having treatment in our clinical programmes selected a commercially available protein (normal serum albumin, NSA) prepared from pooled human sera instead of using their own serum as a supplement for their embryo culture media. In a retrospective analysis of >2000 gonadotrophin-stimulated cycles and 1000 cycles where frozen/thawed embryos were transferred, f...

The effects of concentrations of glycerol, ethylene glycol or dimethylsulphoxide (DMSO) in the presence of either 0.25 M lactose or sucrose on the post-thaw survival of mouse quickly-frozen compacted morulae were studied. In this method, the embryos were directly frozen in liquid nitrogen (LN2) vapor at approximately -170 degrees C for 2 min before being plunged into LN2. High survival rates of...

BACKGROUND The purpose of the study was to compare clinical pregnancy and delivery rates with fresh and frozen embryo transfer in patients admitted to Shiraz- Human Assisted Reproductive Center with ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS). METHODS OHSS patients randomly divided in two groups, group A (n=50) with fresh embryo transfer and group B (n=50) with frozen embryo transfer. We used vi...

It should now be beyond doubt that blastocyst culture results in better pregnancy rate (PR). This calls for fewer embryos to be transferred, and indeed blastocyst culture is of most value when the intention is to put back one embryo at a time. The PR with one top-grade blastocyst is 45-65% in different studies. If two top-grade blastocysts are transferred, the PR usually does not differ, but th...

The effects of the introduction of an 8-h asynchrony between ovulation and insemination on litter size components from rabbits were assessed. A total of 202 females belonging to a maternal line were used. Fresh and frozen sperm were used to perform the inseminations. Sperm was frozen with an extender composed of 1.75 M DMSO and 0.05 M sucrose. Four experimental groups were obtained depending on...

Human embryonic stem (hES) cells are considered to be a potential source for the therapy of human diseases, drug screening, and the study of developmental biology. In the present study, we successfully derived hES cell lines from blastocysts developed from frozen and fresh embryos. Seventeen- to eighteen-year-old frozen embryos were thawed, cultured to the blastocyst stage, and induced to form ...

It is uncertain how long IVF units can keep frozen embryos. Few data exist on success of embryo transfer for embryos that have been cryopreserved for many years. We report the delivery of healthy twins following the transfer of embryos cryopreserved for 12 years. To the best of our knowledge, this is the longest reported successful human embryo freezing.

BACKGROUND Intact frozen-thawed embryos have a greater potential than damaged embryos to establish successful pregnancies. This study aimed to determine whether elevated concentrations of sucrose during freezing would increase the proportion of patients with ≥ 50% of embryos intact after thawing (primary outcome), and improve clinical outcome. METHODS In a two arm, parallel group, pragmatic t...

Fertility patients considering donation of their excess frozen embryos to stem cell research are motivated by the desire not to waste their embryos, and often express a keen interest in stem cell research and a sincere hope that their embryos will contribute to improving human health.