Pregnancy after in vitro fertilization of human follicular oocytes collected from nonstimulated cycles, their culture in vitro and their transfer in a donor oocyte program

Abstract

This study describes the results with immature human follicular oocytes harvested from unstimulated ovaries, matured in vitro, fertilized, and transferred to an agonadal recipient. Two hundred seventy immature oocytes were aspirated from 23 ovaries removed for various gynecological indications from August 1988 to October 1989. The numbers of follicular oocytes collected from ovaries were compared by patients' ages and the stages of menstrual cycle. Immature oocytes in vitro were incubated with either mature follicular fluid (FF) or fetal cord serum (FCS). The maturation rate in the mature FF group was 55.8%, significantly higher than the 35.9% in the FCS group. In addition, mature FF group was shown to provide a significantly higher fertilization rate than the FCS group (81.0% versus 31.6%). More fertilized eggs developed into normal embryos in the nonstimulated cycle group than in stimulated cycles with routine treatment. Finally, five embryos were transferred to a woman with premature ovarian failure on day 18 of a steroid replacement cycle. She subsequently delivered healthy triplet girls. These results suggest that in vitro maturation of immature oocytes from unstimulated ovaries with mature follicular fluid could be used successfully in a donor oocyte program after in vitro fertilization.