Nitrogen vapor shipment of vitrified oocytes: time for caution

Casey A McDonald; Lora Valluzo; Lesley Chuang; Flora Poleshchuk; Alan B Copperman; Jason Barritt

doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2011.05.053

Nitrogen vapor shipment of vitrified oocytes: time for caution

Fertil Steril. 2011 Jun 30;95(8):2628-30. doi: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2011.05.053.

Authors

Casey A McDonald¹, Lora Valluzo, Lesley Chuang, Flora Poleshchuk, Alan B Copperman, Jason Barritt

Affiliation

¹ Reproductive Medicine Associates of New York, New York, New York 10022, USA.

PMID: 21704214
DOI: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2011.05.053

Abstract

Oocyte cryopreservation for fertility preservation, in both medical and elective situations, has significantly increased as freezing technology has improved. Slow freezing techniques demonstrated ∼ 50-80% survival of mature oocytes, however vitrification with ∼ 97% survival has become the preferred method for oocyte cryopreservation around the world. Our work investigated the effect of transporting cryopreserved oocytes to and from a long-term storage facility. Our findings demonstrate that extra caution should be practiced for vitrified oocytes, especially when handling and transferring between shipping and long-term cryopreservation storage containers.

MeSH terms

Cell Survival
Cryopreservation*
Female
Humans
Nitrogen*
Oocytes*
Reproductive Techniques, Assisted* / adverse effects
Specimen Handling* / adverse effects
Time Factors
Transportation*
Vitrification*
Volatilization

Substances

Nitrogen