Skip Navigation



Hum. Reprod. Advance Access published online on September 3, 2004
Human Reproduction, doi:10.1093/humrep/deh504
© 2004 by European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology
This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF ) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
19/12/2884    most recent
deh504v1
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Hiraoka, K.
Right arrow Articles by Kinutani, K.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Hiraoka, K.
Right arrow Articles by Kinutani, K.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Received April 26, 2004
Accepted August 12, 2004

Article

Blastocoele collapse by micropipetting prior to vitrification gives excellent survival and pregnancy outcomes for human day 5 and 6 expanded blastocysts

Kenichiro Hiraoka 1*, Kaori Hiraoka 1, Masayuki Kinutani 1, and Kazuo Kinutani 1

1 Kinutani Women's Clinic, 2-1-4-3F, Ohtemachi, Naka-ku, Hiroshima 730-0051, Japan

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: hiraoka{at}chive.ocn.ne.jp.


  Abstract

BACKGROUND: Manual puncture of the trophectoderm of human blastocysts with a needle before vitrification increases their survival rate, but the embryos take a long time to re-expand. This study examined whether causing human blastocysts to collapse by manual pipetting before vitrification would allow more rapid re-expansion and improve pregnancy rates. METHODS: After embryo transfer in IVF cycles, surplus embryos that developed to the expanded blastocyst stage were placed in cryoprotectant and then artificially shrunk by mechanical pipetting with a fine hand-drawn glass pipette slightly smaller in diameter than the blastocyst. The shrunken embryos were placed in a small volume of vitrification solution and plunged into liquid nitrogen on a cryotop. The blastocysts were thawed by warming and then dilution in 1 mol/l sucrose. RESULTS: Of 49 expanded vitrified blastocysts, 48 (98%) re-expanded within 3 h after warming. Following transfer (48 blastocysts in 28 cycles), 14 women (50%) became clinically pregnant, and the implantation rate was 33% (16/48). Eight healthy babies have been born in six deliveries, and the other eight pregnancies are ongoing. To date, there have been no spontaneous abortions. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that artificial shrinkage with pipetting is a simple and effective technique to assist successful cryopreservation of expanded blastocysts by vitrification.

Keywords: artificial shrinkage; cryopreservation; cryotop; human expanded blastocyst; vitrification.
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Hum ReprodHome page
Y. Wang, Z. Xiao, L. Li, W. Fan, and S.-W. Li
Novel needle immersed vitrification: a practical and convenient method with potential advantages in mouse and human ovarian tissue cryopreservation
Hum. Reprod., October 1, 2008; 23(10): 2256 - 2265.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Hum ReprodHome page
B. Balaban, B. Urman, B. Ata, A. Isiklar, M.G. Larman, R. Hamilton, and D.K. Gardner
A randomized controlled study of human Day 3 embryo cryopreservation by slow freezing or vitrification: vitrification is associated with higher survival, metabolism and blastocyst formation
Hum. Reprod., September 1, 2008; 23(9): 1976 - 1982.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Hum ReprodHome page
T. Mukaida, C. Oka, T. Goto, and K. Takahashi
Artificial shrinkage of blastocoeles using either a micro-needle or a laser pulse prior to the cooling steps of vitrification improves survival rate and pregnancy outcome of vitrified human blastocysts
Hum. Reprod., December 1, 2006; 21(12): 3246 - 3252.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Hum ReprodHome page
S.-U. Chen, C.-L. Chien, M.-Y. Wu, T.-H. Chen, S.-M. Lai, C.-W. Lin, and Y.-S. Yang
Novel direct cover vitrification for cryopreservation of ovarian tissues increases follicle viability and pregnancy capability in mice
Hum. Reprod., November 1, 2006; 21(11): 2794 - 2800.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.