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Updated: Jul 18, 2026
Modified MicroSecure Vitrification: A Safe, Simple and Highly Effective Cryopreservation Procedure for Human Blastocysts
Published on: March 2, 2017
Utilization of high-security straws for embryo freezing in an in vitro fertilization program: a prospective,
Basak Balaban1, Kayhan Yakin, Aycan Isiklar
1Assisted Reproduction Unit, Vehbi Koc Vakfi American Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey.
Objective:
To compare the outcome of frozen-thawed ET cycles where embryos had been stored in conventional versus ionomeric resin-based, high-security straws (HSSs).
Design:
Prospective, randomized study.
Setting:
Private assisted-reproduction unit.
Patient(S):
Three hundred and six freeze cycles, and 197 thaw cycles.
Intervention(S):
Day 3 embryos (n = 1,268) were frozen, and 517 were thawed using HSSs. Alternately, day 3 embryos (n = 1,228) were frozen, and 505 were thawed using conventional straws.
Main Outcome Measure(S):
Cryosurvival, cleavage and morulae formation rates, and clinical pregnancy, implantation, and multiple pregnancy rates.
Result(S):
Although cycle characteristics did not show any differences, the cryosurvival rate was higher in the HSS group (94.7%) than in the conventional straw group (86%), as was the morulae formation rate (58.7% versus 42.7%). Despite a similar number of embryos being transferred, the clinical pregnancy rate (PR) was higher in the HSS group, but the difference lacked statistical significance (42.5% versus 31.2). Implantation rates (19.4% versus 11.4%) and multiple PRs (41.8% versus 16.6%) were significantly higher in the HSS group than in the conventional straw group.
Conclusion(S):
High-security straws are high effective in human embryo cryopreservation, because they provide higher cryosurvival and implantation rates, as well as a lower risk of cross-contamination compared to conventional straws.
