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Embryo Cryopreservation

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In Vitro Fertilization

Abstract

Close to three decades of experience with human embryo cryopreservation has accrued since its first clinical application. The technology involved has changed little in principle in this time other than a slow but inexorable swing away from a preference for “slow-freezing” to the ultra-rapid “ice-free” approach of vitrification. Embryo cryopreservation, as it relates to IVF therapy, has become an essential adjunct to improve clinical outcomes both in terms of cumulative pregnancy rate per oocyte retrieval, and as a strategy to encourage reduction of the number of fresh embryos transferred through cryo-storage of sibling embryos. The technology may even be used to eliminate fresh embryo transfers for reasons of convenience, uterine receptivity, fertility preservation, preimplantation genetic diagnosis, or emergency management. In this chapter, the breadth of the application of this technology, its shortcomings and burgeoning benefits are considered.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Penn Fertility Care, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA

    Matthew D. VerMilyea Ph.D

  2. Fertility Centers of Illinois, Chicago, IL, 60610, USA

    Juergen Liebermann Ph.D

  3. IVF Laboratory, Shady Grove Fertility RSC, Rockville, MD, 20850, USA

    Michael Tucker Ph.D

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  1. Matthew D. VerMilyea Ph.D
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  2. Juergen Liebermann Ph.D
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  3. Michael Tucker Ph.D
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Matthew D. VerMilyea Ph.D or Michael Tucker Ph.D .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. and Infertility, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Reproductive Endocrinology, Francis St 75, Boston, 02115, Massachusetts, USA

    Elizabeth S. Ginsburg

  2. and Infertility, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Reproductive Endocrinlogy, Francis St. 75, Boston, 02115, Massachusetts, USA

    Catherine Racowsky

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VerMilyea, M.D., Liebermann, J., Tucker, M. (2012). Embryo Cryopreservation. In: Ginsburg, E., Racowsky, C. (eds) In Vitro Fertilization. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-9848-4_9

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