Abstract:

Objective To investigate the feasibility，safety and clinical application value of the oocyte vitrification technology in assisted reproductive technology（ART）. Methods The data of 113 cycles performed oocyte vitrification and intracytoplasmic sperm injection ⁃embryo transfer（ICSI ⁃ET）were analyzed retrospectively （oocyte freezing group），and 339 fresh ICSI⁃ET cycle performed in same period were selected randomly as the control group according to the ratio of 1∶3. The causes of oocyte vitrification were analyzed，the fertilization and clinical pregnancy outcomes were compared between the two groups. Results The reasons for oocyte vitrification included no viable sperm，failing to ejaculate，family emergency events on the day of oocyte retrieval and the wom⁃ an gets more oocytes（≥ 25 oocytes），etc. The recovery rate of oocytes was 85.73% after thawing. The rate of no available embryo cycle in the oocyte freezing group was significantly higher than that in the control group，while the cleavage rate and day 3（D3）′s high⁃quality embryo rate in the oocyte freezing group were significantly lower than those in the control group（P < 0.05）. There were no statistical differences in fertilization rate，available embryo rate on the D3，implantation rate，clinical pregnancy rate and the live birth rate between the two groups（P > 0.05）. Conclusion Vitrification of oocytes could obtain similar clinical outcomes to fresh oocytes. Moreover，vitrification of oocytes could be used as a remedy for no available sperm on the day of oocyte retrieval and a method of preserva⁃ tion of female fertility. 

Key words:

oocyte vitrification, intracytoplasmic sperm injection?embryo transfer, clinical outcomes, fertility preservation