Cryopreservation of Oocytes and Embryos: Current Status and Opportunities

Abstract

The biochemical and metabolic activities of living cells are virtually stopped at ultralow temperature and they enter into a suspended state of animation. However, as such, exposure of living cells to ultralow temperature is associated with complex changes that reduce their survivability following freeze-thawing. Cryopreservation is the method for preserving living cells at ultralow temperature at genetically and physiologically stabilized state. Cryopreservation of oocytes and embryos is an integral part of the assisted reproductive technologies with many potential applications. Cryobanking of oocytes and embryos derived from genetically superior animals is promising for enhancing the outcome of planned breeding programs and conserving biodiversity of endangered animal species. Cryobanking can also ensure steady supply of oocytes and embryos for many downstream applications of assisted reproduction such as in vitro embryo production, embryo transfer, production of stem cells, and genetic engineering. Tremendous advancements have been made in this field over the past 5 decades and several methods have been demonstrated for cryopreserving oocytes and embryos in different species. This chapter focuses on the fundamental aspects of oocyte and embryo cryopreservation.

[Retracted] Evaluation of Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Health Practitioners towards Fertility Preservation in Cancer Patients in an Environmental Region of Saudi Arabia

“…This highlights the fact that both genders are interested in reproduction and childbearing. This finding was in contrast to a previous study by Tschudin and Bitzer (2009), who reported that women were more interested in fertility preservation than men [ 31 , 32 ].…”

“…Fertility preservation is usually defined as a process of preserving reproductive cells including oocytes, sperm, and embryos, or reproductive tissues including ovarian and testicular tissues to enable individuals to start a family at a time of their choice when their fertility is compromised [ 30 ]. The main objective of fertility preservation intervention is to minimize the primary disease burden and more importantly to ensure maintaining or preserving the reproductive health [ 31 ].…”

Effect of vitrification at different meiotic stages on epigenetic characteristics of bovine oocytes and subsequently developing embryos

“…For the cryopreservation of oocytes, vitrification offers an alternative to the standard slow freezing with many advantages such as simplicity, cost-effectiveness, and quickness (Mochida & Ogura, 2010). Vitrification has become the routine method for oocyte cryopreservation in human (Arindam et al, 2018).…”

“…For the cryopreservation of oocytes, vitrification offers an alternative to the standard slow freezing with many advantages such as simplicity, cost‐effectiveness, and quickness (Mochida & Ogura, 2010). Vitrification has become the routine method for oocyte cryopreservation in human (Arindam et al, 2018). Oocyte vitrification has numerous applications in many animal species, such as cattle (Hamano et al, 1992), rabbit (Al‐Hasani et al, 1989), horse (Maclellan et al, 2002), and pigs (Somfai et al, 2014).…”

The Effect of Cryopreservation Temperature and Time on Viability and In Vitro Maturation of Sheep Oocytes

“…Gamete cryopreservation has achieved a great progress during the last five decades. It provides valuable sperm and oocytes and accelerates the dissemination of genetic materials and ensure providing continuous source of oocytes and embryos for many applications in genetic improvement programs; in vitro embryo production, embryo transfer (Dhali et al, 2019).…”