Survival and developmental potential of stored human early cleavage stage embryos
- Resource Type
- Authors
- Janell Archer; Harold Bourne; Leeanda Wilton; Helena Jericho; Debra A. Gook; David H. Edgar
- Source
- European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology. 115:S8-S11
- Subject
- Cryopreservation
Genetics
Blastomeres
animal structures
Cell Survival
Cleavage Stage, Ovum
Obstetrics and Gynecology
Embryo
Blastomere
Biology
Embryo Transfer
Preimplantation genetic diagnosis
Cleavage (embryo)
Embryo transfer
Andrology
medicine.anatomical_structure
Reproductive Medicine
Embryo cryopreservation
Pregnancy
embryonic structures
medicine
Humans
Female
Blastocyst
- Language
- ISSN
- 0301-2115
Human early cleavage stage embryos which survive cryopreservation and thawing fully intact demonstrate similar developmental potential to equivalent non frozen embryos when returned to the in vivo environment, whereas blastomere loss is directly related to the loss of potential for subsequent implantation in thawed embryos. This suggests that blastomere lysis during freezing and thawing does not occur preferentially in non viable blastomeres. Prefreeze growth rate rather than prefreeze blastomere number per se correlates with the developmental potential of stored embryos. When blastomere loss occurs as a consequence of cryopreservation, development of thawed early cleavage stage embryos to the blastocyst stage in vitro is impaired and the resultant blastocysts have a reduced total cell content. Blastomere loss is more prevalent in embryos which have been biopsied for preimplantation genetic diagnosis but this increased sensitivity can be circumvented by modification of the standard cryopreservation protocol.