in group 1 and oocytes that survived after vitrification in group 2 were usedfor numerical chromosome analysis.

Results: Rates of survival were 86% in group 2 and 90% in group 3.Incidence of chromosome abnormalities were and 24% in group1, 35% ingroup 2, and 34% in group 3, respectively. There was no difference in thesurvival and chromosome abnormalities between group 2 and group 3.

Conclusions: Vitrification method of oocytes using pulled straws pro-vides a simple, rapid and effective strategy for preventing the risk of LN2

contamination during storage.

Tuesday, October 14, 20034:30 P.M.

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Acceptability of ovarian tissue donation at the time of organ donation.Ivan Huang, Benjamin R. Emery, Akiyasu Mizukami, Harry H. Hatasaka,Douglas T. Carrell, C. Matthew Peterson. Div of Reproductive Endocri-nology and Infertility, Dept of ObGyn, Univ of Utah Health Science Ctr,Salt Lake City, UT; Div of Urology (Andrology/IVF Laboratories), Dept ofSurg, Univ of Utah Health Science Ctr, Salt Lake City, UT; AsahikawaMedical Coll, Hokkaido, Japan.

Objective: The need for a source of human ovarian tissue/follicles forresearch and treatment is well recognized. Present methods utilized toacquire human ovarian tissue/follicles raise significant ethical concerns. Analternative source is donation by women at the time of organ donation. Theacceptability of such donations, in the state of Utah, was previously assessedvia a computer generated sample of all counties. That survey demonstrateda high level of acceptance. This follow-up survey polled parties with anexpress interest in the use of ovarian tissue/follicle donations.

Materials and Methods: In an IRB approved protocol, all participantswere surveyed regarding: general demographics and religion; their willing-ness to donate organs; the acceptability of IVF; research on donated oo-cytes; the fertilization of donated oocytes for research purposes; and thefertilization and subsequent transfer of embryos to create a pregnancyderived from donated oocytes from themselves, their partner, or a relativefor whom they are the legal guardian. ANOVA, Chi square and pair-wisecomparisons of groups were utilized for statistical analysis.

Results: (See Table)

Conclusion: Fertilization of oocytes and transfer of the resulting preem-byos was less acceptable than the scientific study of oocytes withoutfertilization in both of the study populations, and particularly when thedonation was guardian-directed. Potential recipients were more willing thanthe general population to accept fertilization, and fertilization with transferof their own or partner’s embryos to cause a pregnancy. This study supportsthe recommendation that explicit prior written consent of the donor beobtained when donations are procured with the intention of allowing fertil-ization or transfer of a preembryo to cause a pregnancy. In light of the rapidtechnological advancements in oocyte cryopreservation and maturation, it

may be time to provide potential organ donors the opportunity to specifytheir desires regarding ovarian tissues when registering for organ donation.

Tuesday, October 14, 20034:45 P.M.

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Laser-assisted hatching in combination of degenerated blastomere re-section confers to higher implantation and pregnancy rates in frozen-thawed embryo transfer cycles. Thomas A. Elliott, Tyl Taylor, Amy E.Jones, Graham W. Wright, Hilton I. Kort, Zsolt P. Nagy. ReproductiveBiology Assoc, Atlanta, GA.

Objectives: Different factors may contribute to the success of frozen-thawed, cleavage stage embryo transfer (ET) including intactness/damagerate of embryos after the thawing procedure. It is observed that pregnancyand implantation rates are usually lower in cryo-ET cycles, even when mostcontributing factors appear to be optimal, simply because of the cryodamageto the embryos. The freezing-thawing procedure may impact embryos indifferent negative ways such as hardening of the zona pellucida and degen-eration of blastomeres which may lead to impaired embryonic developmentand consequently to lower implantation and pregnancy rates. Therefore, theobjective of the present study was to investigate the combined effect oflaser-assisted hatching and the removal of degenerated blastomeres onimplantation and pregnancy rates in cryo-ET cycles where cleavage stageembryos were transferred.

Design: A total of 76 cryo-ET cycles were randomized prospectively intotwo groups. In 38 cycles, laser-assisted hatching and removal of degener-ated blastomeres were performed on the frozen-thawed embryos (studygroup). In the other 38 cycles, there was no intervention performed on thethawed embryos before ET (control group).

Materials and Methods: The study was performed between September2002 and March 2003. Patients in the fresh cycle underwent controlledovarian hyperstimulation using recombinant FSH after pituitary down-regulation with long leuprolide acetate protocol. Supernumerary embryoseligible for freezing (5 cells or more and �25% fragmentation) werecryopreserved on day 3 using the propenediol slow-freezing method(Vitrolife). Embryos were thawed approximately 80 hours after hCG ad-ministration in a leuprolide acetate and oral micronized estradiol replace-ment cycle. Embryos from the study group were submitted to laser-assistedhatching, using a 1.48 �m diode laser (Octax), followed by the removal ofdegenerated blastomeres. Embryos were transferred 3 to 5 hours after thethawing using the Edwards-Wallace catheter. For statistical analysis One-way ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis and chi-square tests were applied wheneverappropriate.

Results: Results are summarized in the table. Oocyte number per patient,fertilization and embryo developmental rate (and quality) were similar in thetwo groups in the fresh cycle.

Conclusions: The results of the present study suggest that opening of thezona pellucida (by laser-assisted hatching) and removal of the degeneratedblastomeres of the frozen-thawed embryos increases implantation and preg-

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