Patient-specific embryonic stem cells derived from human SCNT blastocysts.

Patient-specific, immune-matched human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) are anticipated to be of great biomedical importance for studies of disease and development and to advance clinical deliberations regarding stem cell transplantation. Eleven hESC lines were established by somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) of skin cells from patients with disease or injury into donated oocytes. These lines, nuclear transfer (NT)-hESCs, grown on human feeders from the same NT donor or from genetically unrelated individuals, were established at high rates, regardless of NT donor sex or age.

Successful fertilization and pregnancy after intracytoplasmic sperm injection and oocyte activation with calcium ionophore in a normozoospermic patient with extremely low fertilization rates in intracytoplasmic sperm injection cycles.

Objective: To investigate the effect of calcium ionophore on the fertilization rate of a patient with normozoospermia who nonetheless exhibited a low fertilization rate in intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).

Design: Case report.

Setting: In vitro fertilization center.

Cryopreservation of human embryos using ethylene glycol in controlled slow freezing.

Background: Ethylene glycol (EG) has been successfully used as a cryoprotectant for vitrification of mammalian formula embryos (including human embryos) due to its low formula weight and high permeation into cells compared with other cryoprotectants, including propylene glycol (PROH). This study was carried out to evaluate the permeation and toxicity of EG and to investigate the effects of its use in a slow-freezing protocol on post-thaw development of mouse embryos and on pregnancy outcome of frozen human embryos.

Methods: Spare human embryos after embryo transfer were cryopreserved using 1.