title: The intra-vaginal culture technique for supernumerary oocytes from gamete intra-Fallopian transfer.
abstract: The intra-vaginal culture technique has been utilized for supernumerary oocytes produced as a result of gamete intra-Fallopian transfer therapy. This has enabled knowledge regarding fertilization to be gained and in addition, by adapting the technique to include a transportational element, it has been possible to perform embryo cryopreservation in a separate unit. Analysis of the results of 72 GIFT treatment cycles reveals that when more than four oocytes were collected at laparoscopy, 15/32 (47%) pregnancies were achieved, in comparison with 7/40 pregnancies (17.5%) when four or fewer oocytes were recovered (P less than 0.01). Whilst the GIFT pregnancy rate was higher when spare oocytes were fertilized and embryos cryopreserved (9/16; 56%), six of the 16 patients (37.5%) with failed fertilization of spare oocytes still achieved a GIFT pregnancy.
authors.affiliation: Assisted Conception Unit, Womens Hospital, Liverpool, UK.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hewitt
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D015925:Cryopreservation; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro; D015181:Gamete Intrafallopian Transfer; D006801:Humans; D008722:Methods