Second Phase of the Pilot Study for Obtaining Mature Oocytes by in Vitro Maturation in Oocyte-donor Women

In vitro maturation (IVM) is a technique for obtaining potentially fertilizable oocytes from immature oocytes. An oocyte must be mature both nuclearly and cytoplasmically in order to be competent in the reproductive process. Nuclear maturation involves an oocyte in metaphase II stage and is easily evaluated for its morphology. However, cytoplasmic maturation can only be evaluated by in vitro fertilization of that oocyte. A mature nuclear and cytoplasmic oocyte is the one capable of producing a viable embryo. This study aims to optimize the in vitro maturation (IVM) technique to achieve nuclear mature oocytes, i.e., to mature the oocytes up to the metaphase II stage. In addition, an artificial oocyte activation (AOA) will be carried out to check the cytoplasmic maturation of the oocytes, avoiding the generation of potentially viable embryos.

This study corresponds to a second phase of the pilot study for the development of this technique in our IVF laboratory. We will use all we have learned in the first phase, as well as the experience acquired, to advance in the optimization of this protocol.

The correct functioning of this IVM technique would mean a reduction in the costs of ovarian stimulation treatments, as lower doses and shorter stimulation times are required, which implies lower risks for women derived from the medication and less stress for them.