Vitrification in Assisted Reproduction

Vitrification in Assisted Reproduction presents standard and new cryopreservation techniques in detail, outlining those that have resulted in success, and providing recommended means for overcoming typically encountered problems.

This new edition provides a much broader range of clinical application and data to demonstrate its contribution to the use of vitrified oocytes and embryos. The book also discusses new areas in the field of assisted reproductive technology such as oocyte banking, preimplantion diagnostics at the blastocyst stage, and the burgeoning adoption of elective single embryo transfer.

Written by expert scientists and clinical embryologists, this book will help you to consistently and predictably apply vitrification as an important therapeutic strategy in assisted reproduction.

Praise for the first edition:

"… a very interesting and important book in this exciting new field of cryobiology … I sincerely recommend this book for every ART laboratory."

—Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica

"… the book presents a straightforward description of current vitrification technology to practitioners in human reproduction, as well as possible scenarios for future applications."

——Gynaecological Endocrinology

CONTENTS

Overview of Biological Vitrification

Gregory M. Fahy

Vitrification of Oocytes and Embryos: Finally a Recognized Technique, But Still a Source of Concern and Debate

Pierre Vanderzwalmen, Nicolas Zech, Fabien Ectors, Yannis Panagiotidis, Achillae Papatheodorou, Prapas Yannis, and Barbara Wirleitner

Intracellular Concentration of Cryoprotectant During Vitrification and Slow-Freezing Cryopreservation Procedures?

Pierre Vanderzwalmen, Fabien Ectors, Barbara Wirleitner, Astrid Stecher, Deborah Desmet, Jacqueline Greindl, Amandine Helson, Sabine Vanderzwalmen, Mark G. Larman, Nicolas Zech, and Delphine Connan

Importance of Cooling Versus Warming Rates in Vitrification Techniques

Shinsuke Seki

The Movement of Water and Cryoprotectants in Mammalian Oocytes and Embryos: Membrane Permeability and Aquaporins

Keisuke Edashige and Magosaburo Kasai

Open Versus Closed Systems

Mark G. Larman and Pierre Vanderzwalmen

Automatic Vitrification: Development of the Gavi System

Tammie K. Roy, Susanna Brandi, Cara K. Bradley, and Teija T. Peura

Vitrification at Minimum Volume: From Basic Science to Clinical Application

Amir Arav

Vitrification of Oocytes: General Considerations and the Use of the Cryotec Method

Masashige Kuwayama

Safety of Vitrification and Cryostorage and Optimization of Cryopreservation Protocols

Lodovico Parmegiani and Marco Filicori

Physiological Aspects of Oocyte Vitrification

Mark G. Larman and David K. Gardner

Vitrification of Oocytes: Imprinting and Disturbance in Spindle Formation and Chromosome Segregation

Tom Trapphoff

Metabolic Profile of Day 3 Embryos Arising from Vitrified Oocytes

Damià Castelló and Francisco Domínguez

Vitrification of Human Oocytes for In Vitro Fertilization Patients

Laura Rienzi, Benedetta Iussig, and Filippo M. Ubaldi

Oocyte Vitrification: Donor "Egg Banking"

Zsolt Peter Nagy, Ana Cobo, and Ching-Chien Chang

Fertility Preservation for oncology Patients

Kara N. Goldman, Caroline McCaffrey, and Nicole Noyes

Vitrification of Human Ovarian Tissue

Mona Sheikhi and Outi Hovatta

Vitrification of Cleavage-Stage Embryos and Blastocysts and Their Neonatal Outcomes

Tetsunori Mukaida and Chikahiro Oka

Vitrification of Human Blastocysts: Clinical Realities and Neonatal Outcomes

Juergen Liebermann

Development and Hatching of Human Blastocysts After Vitrification and Warming

Joe Conaghan and Sergio Vaccari

Does Storage of Vitrified Blastocysts Have an Impact on Implantation Potential and Birth Rate?

Barbara Wirleitner, Nicolas H. Zech, and Pierre Vanderzwalmen

Ovarian Tissue Vitrification: Clinical Realities and Outcomes Chapter for From Basic Science to Clinical Application

Sherman Silber and Christina Usher

Vitrification of Human Testicular Tissue, Spermatogonia, and Spermatozoa

Christine Wyns, Gael Abou-Ghannam, and Jonathan Poels

Vitrification in Pluripotent Stem Cell Banking: Requirements and Technical Solutions For Large-Scale Biobanks

Julia C. Neubauer, Axel F. Beier, Frank Stracke, and Heiko Zimmermann

Scrying The Future: The ongoing Transformation of Reproductive Medicine Through Vitrification

Kevin S. Richter, James R. Graham, and Michael J. Tucker

Michael J. Tucker, PhD, HCLD, FI Biol., is scientific director at Georgia Reproductive Specialists in Atlanta, and Director of IVF laboratories at Shady Grove Fertility in the mid-Atlantic region of the USA. He earned a doctorate in reproductive physiology from the University of Birmingham in the UK, and is a fellow of The Royal Institute of Biology. Dr. Tucker pioneered the first intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) birth in the United States, the nation's first birth resulting from a testicular biopsy, the world's first birth from frozen donor eggs, and the first pregnancy in the world from immature eggs that were matured after thawing in the IVF lab. His current research interests include pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, oocyte and embryo cryopreservation, extended embryo growth and selection, and gamete/embryo micromanipulation. He has authored numerous peer review papers and chapters over the last 30years, and has served as a scientific consultant and lecturer in more than 50 clinics worldwide.

Juergen Liebermann PhD, HCLD (ABB),is certified as a High-complexity Clinical Laboratory Director through the American Board of Bioanalysis. Dr. Liebermann has been working in the field of IVF since 1995. He is the laboratory director for FCI's Chicago/River North Embryology Lab, all FCI Andrology Labs, and the Endocrinology Lab. In his role as director of the Embryology Laboratory, he works with eggs, semen and embryos performing various procedures such as in vitro fertilization, egg vitrification, semen analysis, embryo selection for treatment, intracytoplasmic sperm injection and preimplantation diagnostic and screening of human embryos. Dr. Liebermann’s postdoctoral thesis in 2004 qualified him as a university lecturer in Experimental Reproductive Medicine at the Bavarian University of Wuerzburg, Germany. He is a member of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology, the Society for the Study of Reproduction, and the American Board of Bioanalysis. He serves also as an ad hoc reviewer for various scientific publications and has reviewed more than 130 manuscripts for a variety of leading journals in the field of Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART).