P –758 The efficacy, safety and proven security of microSecure vitrification offers “peace of mind” and reliability during a global pandemic

AbstractStudy questionUnder deadly pandemic conditions involving the novel SARS-CoV –2 corona virus, could biopsied blastocysts be safely cryopreserved, stored and utilized for subsequent warming cycles?Summary answerBlastocysts were securely stored, effectively warmed and safely transferred to yield normal pregnancy outcomes under uncertain laboratory conditions subject to unprecedented policy changes.What is known alreadyBy April 2020, every IVF lab worldwide was implementing deep cleaning/disinfecting procedures in their laboratory and patient-contact areas, thorough hand-washing policies and mandatory PPE to reduce the chance of contact transmission and spread of the potentially deadly SARS-CoV –2 coronavirus. Furthermore, we know that safeguards like oil overlay culture dishes and pipetting dilution factors provide insurance against possible contamination. However, knowing that the trophectoderm of blastocysts possessed the ACE–2 binding receptor, potential concern existed regarding t he continuation of laser zona opening and biopsy procedures that could possibly expose cryopreserved embryos to the coronavirus in liquid nitrogen storage (vapor or liquid).Study design, size, durationBetween March 8 and December 22, 2020, 508 patients performed FET cycles involving the use of single (n  = 490) or dual (n = 18) euploid microSecure vitrified blastocysts. In this retrospective analysis, we compared clinical pregnancy outcomes to a 5 year dataset (2015–2019) en...
Source: Human Reproduction - Category: Reproduction Medicine Source Type: research