PREGNANCY OUTCOMES IN SINGLE FROZEN BLASTOCYST TRANSFER CYCLES AFTER THAWING AND CULTURING FOR AN ADDITIONAL 16-20 HOURS

To evaluate whether prolonged post-thaw culture duration (16-20h) affects the development of embryos and pregnancy outcomes in single frozen blastocyst transfer cycles

This retrospective study included 263 single frozen-thawed blastocyst transfer cycles between January 2021 and December 2023 at the Department of Assisted ReproductiveTechnology & Andrology- Hanoi Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital. The main outcomes were the blastocyst morphology parameters-expansion, inner cell mass (ICM), trophectoderm grade (TE) and the pregnancy rate (PR), implantation rate (IR).

After 16–20 hours of culture, embryos showed development in both the degree of blastocoel expansion and the quality of the ICM and TE. The clinical pregnancy rate was 66.9%, and the implantation rate was 57.5%.

A 16–20 hour post-thaw culture can be applied to enhance embryo development.