title: Oocyte cryopreservation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To review historical and contemporary advances in oocyte-cryopreservation techniques and outcomes.
  
  
  METHODS
  Publications related to oocyte cryopreservation were identified through MEDLINE and other bibliographic databases.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Oocyte cryopreservation can be used as an adjunct to conventional IVF and as an option for fertile women to electively cryopreserve their gametes. Recent reports indicate pregnancy rates comparable to those for cryopreserved embryos by either slow-freeze or vitrification methods. Larger prospective trials are needed to determine the true efficacy and safety of oocyte cryopreservation. Until a sufficient number of births is reached and adequate outcome data are collected, oocyte cryopreservation should continue to be considered experimental and to be performed under the oversight of an institutional review board.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California 90033, USA. jjain@usc.edu
authors.forename: John K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Jain
authors.forename: Richard J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Paulson
mesh_terms: D001723:Birth Rate; D015925:Cryopreservation / Q000266:history / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends*; D003451:Cryoprotective Agents; D005260:Female; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D050498:Live Birth; D009865:Oocytes
chemical_list: D003451:Cryoprotective Agents