Vitrification of cultured and non-cultured expanded and hatched porcine blastocysts

The aim of this experiment was to examine the survival of porcine embryos following exposure or vitrification in EFS solution. The work was carried out on cultured and non-cultured expanded and hatched blastocysts. The viability of treated embryos was assessed by their ability to develop in in vitro culture. The results showed a higher viability of cultured expanded blastocyst (35.1 percent) vitrified in EFS medium compared to those non-cultured (12.5 percent). The proportion of cultured hatched blastocyst vitrified in this medium was 13.2 percent, while none of the non-cultured hatched blastocyst survived vitrification. It is concluded that: 1. The EFS solution was more toxic to hatched blastocyst than expanded blastocyst 2. The expanded blastocyst was a more suitable developmental stage for vitrification than hatched blastocyst. Moreover, we demonstrated that the survival rate of vitrified cultured pig blastocyst was higher compared to non-cultured.