Metabolism of human embryos following cryopreservation: implications for the safety and selection of embryos for transfer in clinical IVF.

Background: Cryopreservation of supernumerary embryos is routinely performed in human-assisted reproduction, providing a source of embryos which can be thawed for use in subsequent treatment cycles. However, the viability of cryopreserved embryos has traditionally relied on morphological assessment, which is a poor predictor of embryo health since freezing leads to a significant overall reduction in implantation potential, and its long-term efficacy is unknown. This study describes how the post-thaw metabolism of human embryos can be used to predict future development to the blastocyst stage.