A single warming procedure irrespective of the freezing protocol?

Currently human oocytes and embryos are cryopreserved through slow freezing and vitrification. Lodovico Parmegiani,  well known for his research in ART, and colleagues have recently published a rapid warming protocol suitable for either.

Their work involved an evaluation of a new rapid warming protocol on slow frozen embryos (our Kryo 360 1.7) based on the standard warming procedure for vitrification. Survival rates were higher with rapid warming than with rapid thawing and after three days of culture the rapidly warmed parthenotes had more blastomeres compared to those rapidly thawed.

Meiotic spindle and chromosomal configuration do not seem to be significantly influenced by either method. The findings seem to demonstrate that it is possible to increase the efficiency of oocyte slow freezing by improving the thawing procedure.

Lodovico currently works in Bologna where he is the Laboratory Director at the Reproductive Medicine Unit, GynePro Medical Center.  His current research interests are cryobiology, gamete selection and micro-manipulation. Potentially his findings in the study may allow IVF centres to increase the efficiency of oocyte slow freezing and to potentially optimise costs by using the same warming protocol for both slow frozen and vitrified reproductive cells.

For the full article see
http://download.journals.elsevierhealth.com/pdfs/journals/1472-6483/PIIS1472648314000716.pdf