Functional assessment of donated human embryos for the generation of pluripotent embryonic stem cell lines.

Research Question: Can discarded embryos at blastocyst stage, donated to research because of genetic abnormalities and poor morphological quality, become a reliable source of human embryonic stem cell (HESC) lines?

Design: This study was consecutively conducted with 23 discarded embryos that were donated to research between February 2020 and April 2021. All embryos, except one, were morphologically evaluated and underwent trophectoderm biopsy for preimplantation genetic testing using next-generation sequencing (NGS), and then vitrified. After warming, the embryos were placed in appropriate culture conditions for the generation of HESCs, which was functionally assessed with immunofluorescence and flow cytometry for pluripotency capacity and spontaneous in-vitro differentiation.