In vivo survival rate of rabbit morulae after vitrification in a medium without serum protein

The in vivo survival rate of rabbit morulae after vitrification in a mixture of dimethyl sulphoxide and ethylene glycol solution without protein supplement (WPS) was compared with two types of protein supplements: rabbit serum (RS) and bovine serum albumin (BSA). Significant differences were observed in the percentage of transferable embryos (undamaged embryos after devitrification, 80.4% versus 93.2 and 92.1%, WPS, BSA and RS, respectively, P < 0.05) and live born rate (40.9% versus 56.1%, WPS and BSA, respectively, P < 0.05). Non-significant differences were, however, observed in the percentages of implanted embryos at 12 days post-ovulation induction (56.7, 69.7 and 68.6%), post-implantation survival rate (82.3, 74.2 and 77.2%) and live born rate in pregnant does (54.6, 56.1 and 50.5%) with different vitrification media (RS, BSA and WPS). We conclude that rabbit embryos can be vitrified and stored using protein-free vitrification medium with moderate losses of viability.