Birth of a healthy baby after transfer of blastocysts derived from cryopreserved human oocytes fertilized with frozen spermatozoa

Objective To report the birth of a healthy baby after transfer of blastocysts derived from frozen eggs and frozen spermatozoa. Design Case report. Setting University-based assisted reproduction center. Patient(s) A 37-year-old woman with secondary infertility of 4 years' duration. Intervention(s) Retrieved oocytes were cryopreserved in 1.5 M 1,2-propanediol (PROH) and 0.3 M sucrose by a slow freezing–rapid thawing protocol, semen cryopreservation, and insemination by intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) at 4 hours after thawing. Main Outcome Measure(s) Fertilization and embryo development to blastocyst stage, pregnancy, and outcome. Result(s) Ten of 14 frozen oocytes survived after thawing. Eight of them were fertilized by performing ICSI and three developed into 7- to 8-cell embryos on day 3. Two of these embryos developed into blastocysts on day 5 and were transferred. This resulted in a successful pregnancy and the delivery of a healthy baby boy. Conclusion(s) This case demonstrates the feasibility of inseminating the frozen-thawed human oocytes after 4 hours of in vitro culture and the zygotes derived from frozen oocytes and frozen spermatozoa can be cultured to blastocysts resulting in the live birth of a healthy baby boy.