In-Vitro Fertilization
What is ivf?
IVF is the process of harvesting unfertilized oocytes directly from the ovaries of a donor cow or heifer. These recovered oocytes are then fertilized with semen in a petri dish one day after aspiration and develop in an incubator to become embryos 7 days after fertilization.
Oocytes are first collected from the ovaries by ultrasound-guided follicular aspiration. The oocytes are then matured for 24 hours and then fertilized in a petri dish. After fertilzation the embryos are incubated for 7 days during which embryonic development takes place. After the 7 days the resulting viable embryos are then transferred into recipients or frozen.
*Our IVF lab is now in house
IVF Process
Select
donor
Donor on
protocol
oocytes collected
oocytes fertilized
Implant
Select your donor female
Donor DFR and super stimulation
Oocytes are aspirated from the donors ovaries
Oocytes are fertilized in a petri-dish and incubated for 7 days to become an embryo
Viable embryos are either freshly implanted into a recipient female or frozen
Why ivf?
There are several reasons which make IVF advantageous compared to conventional flushing including:
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Potential to obtain embryos from donors that do not respond to conventional flushing.
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Collection from donors can occur every two weeks.
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Pregnant donors can be collected from up to 90-150 days pregnant.
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Can collect heifers before or after breeding which allows breeders to accelerate genetic improvement.
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Can use only one straw of semen on multiple donors.