The aim of this study is to elucidate the impact of the presence or absence of serum proteins in two embryo culture media (ECM) on the quality of blastocysts generated from 1PN and 3PN human embryos.
The media used were the synthetic protein-free SafeIVF® (SM, Malaysia) and Global® protein-containing (GM, USA) media. The proportions and qualities of day 5 blastocysts generated were statistically compared using the modified statistics-enabled blastocyst grading method (1).
The blastocysts generated from 1PN and 3PN embryos in both media were statistically similar (Table 1).
Table 1: Comparison of development of 1PNand 3PN blastocysts in Global® and SafeIVF® media
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Description Global SafeIVF Significance
medium (%) medium (%)
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% Development of total blastulation 72/110 72/110 p=1.000; NS
(i.e: Cavitated Morula/Early Blasts/Blastocysts) (65.6%) (65.6%)
% Development of day 5 blastocysts only 46/110 45/110 p=1.000; NS
(41.8%) (40.9%)
% Development of Early blastocysts only 26/110 27/110 p=1.000; NS
(23.6%) (24.5%)
Cumulative score for total blastulation 9.6 9.8 p=0.2649; NS
(Blastocoel expansion (or Volume)+ICM+Trophectoderm)
Key: 12=Excellent; 9=Good; 6=average; 3=poor
Summarized grade score (V+ICM+Trophect) 3.2 3.3 p=0.2601;NS
(Grading:4=Excellent; 3=good; 2+ average; 1=poor)
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The present study has demonstrated that the synthetic SafeIVF® protein-free medium is comparable in efficacy to contemporary protein-containing ECM (GM®) with reference to proportions and qualities of blastocysts generated. Previous studies with cleavage stage embryos generated in synthetic safeIVF medium has resulted in clinical pregnancy rates of about 50% with live births (2) similar to or better than protein-containing medium. The use of synthetic medium in therapeutic human IVF procedures will eliminate the potential for transmission of disease and harmful donor proteins, prevent batch-to-batch variation in ECM quality, allow longer shelf life and preserve the genetic constitution of the embryo.