Survival of ovine embryos stored at 4 degrees C for 24 hours

This study was conducted to ascertain if sheep embryos collected for transfer can be stored for short periods without freezing to allow for international transport. Of twelve Finnish Landrace ewes treated with equine follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), eleven ewes ovulated with a mean of 9.1 +/- 4.3 (SD) corpora lutea. Recovery rate from the nine ewes with normal corpora lutea was 68 +/- 27%, providing 61 morulae which were then cooled to 4 C and stored for 24 h while transporting them from Scotland to France. Romanov recipients received either 4 (n = 14) or 5 (n = 1) of these morulae. Fourteen of the recipients lambed, with a mean lambing rate of 2.1 +/- 0.8, representing 48.3% of embryos transferred. Cooling of embryos to 4 C and storing them in ovum culture medium for 24 h at 4 C may be a valuable technique for the handling and short-term storage of embryos.