title: Pregnancy and fertilization potential of immature oocytes retrieved in intracytoplasmic sperm injection cycles.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The goal of this study was to evaluate the pregnancy potential of immature (metaphase I or germinal vesicle stage) oocytes retrieved in intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 1,871 couples with infertility underwent 2,984 ICSI cycles. Cycles in which three or fewer oocytes were retrieved were included in this study in order to evaluate the pregnancy potential of immature oocytes. Cycles were divided into five groups (group I-V), according to the maturation status of the oocytes at the time of cumulus cell removal and ICSI. The fertilization and pregnancy rates after ICSI were analyzed and compared among the study groups based on the maturation status of the retrieved oocytes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The retrieval of only immature oocytes was associated with a significant decrease in the fertilization rate (76.1%±37.3% vs. 49.0%±49.1%, 66.7%±48.7%; group I vs. group II, group III, respectively) and the average number of transferred embryos (1.5±0.7 vs. 1.1±0.4, 1.1±0.6). The cycle cancellation rate was significantly higher when only immature oocytes were retrieved. The clinical pregnancy rate decreased significantly when the transferred embryos had originated from immature oocytes (16.9% vs. 10.3%, 1.2%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In ICSI cycles, the fertilization potential and pregnancy potential of the immature oocytes retrieved in ICSI cycles were inferior to those of mature oocytes. Therefore, increasing the number of injectable oocytes and transferrable embryos by using immature oocytes after their spontaneous in vitro maturation does not necessarily improve pregnancy outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Cheil General Hospital and Women's Healthcare Center, Dankook University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Duck Sung
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Ko
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Cheil General Hospital and Women's Healthcare Center, Dankook University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Sun-Hee
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Cheil General Hospital and Women's Healthcare Center, Dankook University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Dong-Wook
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Cheil General Hospital and Women's Healthcare Center, Dankook University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Kwang Moon
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Cheil General Hospital and Women's Healthcare Center, Dankook University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Chun Kyu
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Lim
keywords: Fertilization; In vitro maturation; Intracytoplasmic sperm injection; Mature oocyte; Pregnancy