Oocyte Cryopreservation: Slow Cooling Versus Vitrification Techniques on Oocyte Survival

October 26, 2011 updated by: Claudio Benadiva, UConn Health

Oocyte Cryopreservation: Comparison of Slow Cooling Versus Vitrification Techniques on Oocyte Survival, Fertilization, and Embryo Development

Oocyte cryopreservation has been studied for many years without much success in refining a method that has consistent, reliable results in producing viable embryos and clinical pregnancies. In 1986 the first baby was born from an embryo created from a frozen oocyte; however, since then there have been less than 150 births from frozen eggs. To date, there are no reportable adverse outcomes in the children born from frozen oocytes. The research continues to look at different methods of oocyte cryopreservation. Many smaller studies have been conducted with some success but larger clinical trials are needed to replicate these findings. The conventional cryopreservation technique has been slow cooling with differing methods of freezing; however, vitrification is now being researched as the potential cryopreserving method that holds some promise for the future.

Our hypothesis is the use of vitrification (quick freezing) to cryopreserve oocytes in patients undergoing in-vitro fertilization will be more successful than slow freezing in oocyte survival, fertilization rate with ICSI and subsequent embryo development, implantation rate and pregnancy rate.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Detailed Description

Cryopreservation of oocytes is desirable because it: 1) would allow infertility patients to store excess oocytes instead of embryos, eliminating some of the ethical and religious concerns that accompany embryo storage; 2) permit storage of donor oocytes to avoid donor-recipient synchronization difficulties; and 3) can help women who may face sterilization due to chemotherapy or radiation. Oocyte cryopreservation is therefore gaining in popularity as an option for infertility treatment as well as fertility preservation.

Oocyte cryopreservation using conventional slow-cooling methods has not had much success; however more recent results have provided more optimism (Boldt et al., 2003; Porcu et al., 1997; 2000; 2002; Yang et al., 1998; 1999; 2002; Winslow et al., 2001). Vitrification has also been employed (Hong et al., 1999; Kuleshova et al., 1999; Yoon et al., 2000, 2003; Chung et al 2000; Wu et al., 2001: Kuwayama et al., 2005) with increased oocyte survival rate and live births. Vitrification is performed by suspending the oocytes in a solution containing a high concentration of cryoprotectants and then plunging them directly into liquid nitrogen (Rall and Fahy, 1985). The advantage of this technique is to prevent the formation of ice crystals within the oocyte. However the toxic effect of the high concentration of the cryoprotectant media has been a concern. New vitrification techniques which attempt to accelerate the cooling rate by decreasing the cryosolution volume and concentration, may reduce the potential toxicity. In addition, a more rapid cooling rate results in reduced chilling injury (Vajta et al., 1998).

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

14

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Connecticut
      • Farmington, Connecticut, United States, 06030-6224
        • The Center for Advanced Reproductive Services

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

21 years to 36 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

Female

Sampling Method

Probability Sample

Study Population

The Center for Advanced Reproductive Services patient population

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients ≤ 36 years old
  • Day #3 follicle stimulation hormone (FSH) < 10mIU/ml, and Estradiol < 70 pg/ml.
  • The study will be limited to couples who do not wish to cryopreserve excess embryos, who would otherwise have their excess oocytes discarded.
  • Body Mass Index (BMI) ≤ 35
  • Patients currently being seen in our offices

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Male partner requiring microsurgical epididymal sperm aspiration or testicular sperm extraction (MESA/TESE) for sperm retrieval
  • Day #3 follicle stimulation hormone (FSH) > 10mIU/ml, or estradiol > 70 pg/ml
  • Diagnosis of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)
  • Body Mass Index (BMI) >35

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Slow Freeze
Vitrification

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Oocyte survival
Time Frame: When patient returns for thaw cycle
When patient returns for thaw cycle

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Implantation rate
Time Frame: 2 weeks after transfer of thawed oocyte
2 weeks after transfer of thawed oocyte

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

UConn Health

Collaborators

EMD Serono

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Claudio Benadiva, MD, HCLD, The Center for Advanced Reproductive Services, P.C.

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

July 1, 2006

Primary Completion (Actual)

October 1, 2009

Study Completion (Actual)

May 1, 2010

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

January 15, 2008

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 26, 2008

First Posted (Estimate)

January 28, 2008

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

October 28, 2011

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 26, 2011

Last Verified

October 1, 2011

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 06-336-2
  • 26525

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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