Age, dose of FSH and other factors affecting superovulation in Holstein cows

Effects of age of donor and other factors on superovulation and production of transferable embryos were investigated. Data were obtained on 987 recoveries of embryos performed between November 1980 and June 1984 by Select Embryos, Inc. The 339 Holstein donors ranged in age from 1.8 to 17.8 yr. The effects of age of donor and dose of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) were examined using regression analysis. For on-farm recoveries, numbers of embryos, rates of fertilization, quality scores of all embryos and numbers of transferable embryos decreased (P less than .01, P less than .001, P less than .05, P less than .01, respectively) with increasing age of donor. For in-clinic recoveries, numbers of embryos plus ova recovered were affected by age of donor, dose of FSH and the interaction of the two (P less than .05). Among older donors, increasing doses of FSH were associated with an increase in the number of ova plus embryos recovered. However, among younger donors, increasing doses of FSH had a negative effect. Numbers of embryos, rates of fertilization and numbers of transferable embryos decreased (P less than .05) with advancing age and increased (P less than .05) with increasing doses of FSH. Greater numbers of ova plus embryos were recovered when treatment with FSH was begun on d 10 or 11 as compared with d 7, 8, 9, 12, 13 or 14 (P less than .001). It was concluded that an increase in age of donor had a negative influence on the success of superovulation and the production of transferable embryos, and that the response to FSH was affected by age of donor.