Day 3 Embryo Cryopreservation: Metabolic and Viability Analysis

Day 3 Embryo Cryopreservation: Metabolic and Viability Analysis

Embryo preservation through freezing plays a significant role in human assisted reproduction. It provides an opportunity for patients to have more than one attempt following an ovarian stimulation cycle, thereby decreasing the exposure of patients to exogenous gonadotrophins and improving cumulative pregnancy rates. The purpose of this study is to compare effectiveness of two different freezing methods.

Inclusion Criteria:

• ICSI with own gametes
• Couples who did not wish to cryopreserve their excess embryos for possible transfer in a future cyle
• Donating excess embryos for research purposes

Exclusion Criteria:

• Embryos derived from surgically retrieved spermatozoa
• Blastocysts
• Embryos of low quality (Grade 3 or 4 according to Hardarson)