Extended Culture of Day 3 to Day 5 Frozen Thawed Day 3 Embryos Versus Day 5 Frozen-Thawed Embryos
Study Details
Study Description
Brief Summary
Cryopreservation of embryos and oocytes has become routine in assisted reproduction technology (ART). Live birth rates following frozen embryo transfers have increased significantly. Data show that cryopreservation has significant improved survival rates and cumulative pregnancy rates, as well as the safety of ART . Embryo cryopreservation has become a cornerstone in ART. With improved vitrification techniques. Frozen embryos transfer (FET) shows equal or even higher implantation and pregnancy rates than do fresh embryo transfers ART Previous studies show equal or even superior outcomes regarding pregnancy and live birth rates with frozen versus fresh embryo transfer Cryopreserve all embryos have increased substantially in recent years, and according to the recent trend of a freeze-all strategy. This study aims to answer a clinical question encountered in daily practice regarding at what stage embryos should be frozen.
| Condition or Disease | Intervention/Treatment | Phase |
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Detailed Description
Cryopreservation of embryos and oocytes has become routine in assisted reproduction technology (ART). Live birth rates following frozen embryo transfers have increased significantly. Data show that cryopreservation has significant improved survival rates and cumulative pregnancy rates, as well as the safety of ART. Embryo cryopreservation has become a cornerstone in ART. With improved vitrification techniques. Frozen embryos transfer (FET) shows equal or even higher implantation and pregnancy rates than do fresh embryo transfers ART .
Previous studies show equal or even superior outcomes regarding pregnancy and live birth rates with frozen versus fresh embryo transfer .
Cryopreservation has several advantages. It maintains supernumerary embryos not used for fresh transfer; allows single-embryo transfer, thus reducing multiple gestations; enables a freeze-all strategy to prevent ovarian hyper stimulation syndrome; is useful for social or medical fertility preservation; and allows embryo biopsy for preimplantation genetic testing, luteal phase stimulation, and dual stimulation protocols .
A recent trend is to perform blastocyst fresh/frozen single-embryo transfers. The advantages include exposing the embryo to a more natural uterine environment. Also, by extending the duration of culture, embryo self-selection will occur and may enable the highest chance of implantation . Due to a potential damage to the expanded blastocyst during vitrification procedure, an emerging clinical question is whether cryopreserving cleavage stage embryos, then thawing and culturing to blastocysts will achieve better outcomes, as compared to transfer of a thawed blastocyst .
The most recent study demonstrated that thawing cleavage embryos, then culturing and transferring them as blastocysts, yields improved pregnancy rates and perinatal outcomes compared to thawed blastocyst embryo transfers . Cryopreserve all embryos have increased substantially in recent years, and according to the recent trend of a freeze-all strategy. This study aims to answer a clinical question encountered in daily practice regarding at what stage embryos should be frozen.
Study Design
Arms and Interventions
| Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
|---|---|
| No Intervention: Group 1: (day 5 group) Women will undergo ICSI, and verification-thawed blastocysts will be transferred after 5 days of ovulation (60cases). |
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| Experimental: Group 2: (day 3-5 group) Women will undergo ICSI, who had cryopreserved embryos on day 3 then thawed and embryos will be allowed for extended cultured for 2 additional days and then will be transferred as blastocysts after 5 days of ovulation (60 cases). |
Other: Extended culture for Group 2: (day 3-5 group)
To investigate thawing day three embryos and culturing them to be transferred as blastocyst that will improve pregnancy rate when compared to transfer thawed frozen blastocyst.
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Outcome Measures
Primary Outcome Measures
- To increase the pregnancy rate of cases undergoes to ICSI. [16 months]
Pregnancy rates will be determined in each of the two groups and compared to each other in three stages in clinical pregnancy, ongoing pregnancy and live pregnancy rates.
Eligibility Criteria
Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
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Patients with history of primary or secondary infertility.
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Age ≤ 38 years.
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Female patients having more than 4 vitrified embryos.
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BMI less than 30 kg/m².
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Good quality of embryos
Exclusion Criteria:
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Severe male factor infertility.
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Recurrent implantation failure.
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Females with uterine Congenital anomalies.
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Bad quality of embryos.
Contacts and Locations
Locations
| Site | City | State | Country | Postal Code | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | International Islamic Center for Population Studies and Researches (IICPSR) - Al-Azhar University | Cairo | Al-Azhar University, Al-Darrasah | Egypt | 11511 |
Sponsors and Collaborators
- Al-Azhar University
Investigators
None specified.Study Documents (Full-Text)
None provided.More Information
Publications
- Boyard J, Reignier A, Chtourou S, Lefebvre T, Barriere P, Freour T. Should artificial shrinkage be performed prior to blastocyst vitrification? A systematic review of the literature and meta-analysis. Hum Fertil (Camb). 2022 Feb;25(1):24-32. doi: 10.1080/14647273.2019.1701205. Epub 2020 Jan 24.
- Gardner DK, Lane M, Stevens J, Schlenker T, Schoolcraft WB. Blastocyst score affects implantation and pregnancy outcome: towards a single blastocyst transfer. Fertil Steril. 2000 Jun;73(6):1155-8. doi: 10.1016/s0015-0282(00)00518-5.
- Martins WP, Nastri CO, Rienzi L, van der Poel SZ, Gracia C, Racowsky C. Blastocyst vs cleavage-stage embryo transfer: systematic review and meta-analysis of reproductive outcomes. Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol. 2017 May;49(5):583-591. doi: 10.1002/uog.17327. Epub 2017 Apr 10.
- Nagy ZP, Shapiro D, Chang CC. Vitrification of the human embryo: a more efficient and safer in vitro fertilization treatment. Fertil Steril. 2020 Feb;113(2):241-247. doi: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2019.12.009.
- Ozgur K, Berkkanoglu M, Bulut H, Isikli A, Coetzee K. Higher clinical pregnancy rates from frozen-thawed blastocyst transfers compared to fresh blastocyst transfers: a retrospective matched-cohort study. J Assist Reprod Genet. 2015 Oct;32(10):1483-90. doi: 10.1007/s10815-015-0576-1. Epub 2015 Sep 23.
- Rahav-Koren R, Inbar S, Miller N, Wiser A, Yagur Y, Berkowitz C, Farladansky-Gershnabel S, Shulman A, Berkowitz A. Thawing day 3 embryos and culturing to day 5 may be a better method for frozen embryo transfer. J Assist Reprod Genet. 2021 Nov;38(11):2941-2946. doi: 10.1007/s10815-021-02321-y. Epub 2021 Sep 22.
- Roque M, Haahr T, Geber S, Esteves SC, Humaidan P. Fresh versus elective frozen embryo transfer in IVF/ICSI cycles: a systematic review and meta-analysis of reproductive outcomes. Hum Reprod Update. 2019 Jan 1;25(1):2-14. doi: 10.1093/humupd/dmy033.
- Van Landuyt L, Polyzos NP, De Munck N, Blockeel C, Van de Velde H, Verheyen G. A prospective randomized controlled trial investigating the effect of artificial shrinkage (collapse) on the implantation potential of vitrified blastocysts. Hum Reprod. 2015 Nov;30(11):2509-18. doi: 10.1093/humrep/dev218. Epub 2015 Sep 12.
- Wang A, Santistevan A, Hunter Cohn K, Copperman A, Nulsen J, Miller BT, Widra E, Westphal LM, Yurttas Beim P. Freeze-only versus fresh embryo transfer in a multicenter matched cohort study: contribution of progesterone and maternal age to success rates. Fertil Steril. 2017 Aug;108(2):254-261.e4. doi: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2017.05.007. Epub 2017 Jun 1.
- vitrification of embryos