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Successful Live Birth Outcome Following Assisted Activation of Failed Fertilized Oocytes

  • Embryology: Case Study
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Abstract

Here, we report on a rare case of a live birth following assisted oocyte activation of failed fertilized oocytes. A 34-year-old nulliparous woman presenting at a university-based assisted reproductive technology center with multi-factor infertility underwent an IVF cycle using intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) of frozen/thawed testicular sperm aspiration (TESA) sample and preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (PGT-A). All oocytes displayed failed fertilization at assessment 18 h post-ICSI. Rescue of this cycle was achieved with the use of an assisted oocyte activation (AOA) protocol, whereby oocytes were subjected to AOA with calcium ionophore at 19 h post-ICSI and assessed for blastocyst development. Blastocyst-stage embryos were biopsied for PGT-A analysis with one of the three embryos reporting as genetically normal. This embryo was transferred in a frozen embryo transfer cycle and resulted in a normal pregnancy and term live birth. In conclusion, application of AOA protocols following failed fertilization outcomes can lead to viable, genetically normal embryos capable of resulting in a live birth.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. REI Division, Department of ObGyn, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA

    Eliza C. Curnow, Bianca Vannucci & Christopher N. Herndon

  2. Male Fertility Lab, Department of Urology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA

    Charles H. Muller

Authors
  1. Eliza C. Curnow
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  2. Bianca Vannucci
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  3. Charles H. Muller
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  4. Christopher N. Herndon
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the preparation of the manuscript. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Eliza Curnow, and Bianca Vannucci was responsible for the illustration. All authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Eliza C. Curnow.

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Curnow, E.C., Vannucci, B., Muller, C.H. et al. Successful Live Birth Outcome Following Assisted Activation of Failed Fertilized Oocytes. Reprod. Sci. 30, 2584–2588 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43032-023-01186-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s43032-023-01186-z

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