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Embryo cryopreservation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 March 2009

AO Trounson*
Affiliation:
Centre for Early Human Development, Monash University, Victoria, Australia
JM Shaw
Affiliation:
Centre for Early Human Development, Monash University, Victoria, Australia
*
AO Trounson, Director, Centre of Early Human Development, Monash University, Monash Medical Centre, 246 Clayton Road, Clayton, Victoria, 3168Australia.

Extract

Embryo cryopreservation is a well established technique and is used widely for embryo banking of genetically valuable strains of mice, the transport and proliferation of farm animals and as a valuable adjunct to human in vitro fertilization (IVF). The range of methods presently used to cryopreserve human embryos has been recently reviewed. This article examines the results obtained by the established freezing techniques and developments in the new rapid cooling methods. There is a dramatic contrast in the simplicity, ease and cost between these new rapid techniques and the conventional slow cooling or equilibrium freezing methods and it is likely that the rapid freezing will replace conventional freezing by slow cooling which is presently in widespread use in IVF clinics.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1992

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