A look at success rates with Vytelle IVF
“For cattle producers wanting to fast-forward generations of genetic gain, in vitro fertilisation (IVF) is unbeatable today,” Dr Bruno Sanches, VP of Vytelle, said.
Vytelle’s IVF process is hormone-free and simple for producers, allowing them to maximise the offspring from their most elite females.
“Once you identify the best animals in your herd we could multiply those animals at a faster pace and at a younger age, we can use more expensive or more rare semen with more efficiency, so we have a lot of advantages on using IVF,” Dr Sanches said.
Dr Sanches has completed his PHD on frozen embryo research and development, and believes they offer a big opportunity to Australian producers.
Frozen Embryos
In this process, Vytelle technicians collect the oocytes which are sent to the lab where the oocysts are fertilised before they are frozen as embryos. Freezing embryos keeps them viable for a number of years and gives producers the flexibility to customise their own transfer programs. Vytelle has proven they have the technology (a proprietary media solution that protects the embryo) and methods to deliver consistent results with frozen embryos.
“This technology is going to fly and be adopted on a large scale when people trust the frozen embryos,” Dr Sanches said.
Freezing embryos allows producers to be more flexible with their breeding programs – they can collect eggs from donor animals multiple times and then schedule a single, large-scale embryo transfer to achieve a concentrated calving period. Alternatively, they can time the transfers to align with the natural reproductive cycles of recipient animals.
The Key to Success: Quality Recipients
Whether working with fresh or frozen embryos, the success of any embryo transfer program ultimately depends on the quality and management of recipient animals. Fresh transfers require immediate coordination between embryo collection and recipient availability, while frozen embryos offer more scheduling flexibility. However, both methods share a critical requirement: properly prepared recipient animals.
“Once you have a grade one good quality embryo to work with, if your recipients are not ready or you are not properly set up, we are just wasting time and money on transferring those embryos,” Dr Sanches said. “With frozen embryos, we can be more strategic – we can store the surplus and even export them using direct transfer methods, but the recipient’s condition remains the most crucial factor in achieving pregnancy.”
Direct Thaw Method (DT)
Vytelle solely uses the Direct Thaw (DT) method when using frozen embryos, which improves efficiency at transfer, eliminates unnecessary handling of the embryo, and allows embryos to be export eligible.
Unlike the alternative technology which requires a technician to thaw embryos, DT is similar to semen, it is thawed in water and transferred directly into the recipient, giving much more flexibility to producers. It also means embryo transport is much easier and more practical.
Fresh Embryos
“Frozen embryos are a game-changer, especially in a country like Australia, also US, Brazil, where the logistics is a challenge – big countries, big herds, long distances,” Dr Sanches said. “Relying on the logistics of fresh embryos…is very risky, so leveraging frozen embryos, having those embryos sit in the tank to be used in the best time, to me, is what is going to move this industry even faster.”
Fresh embryos can increase the pregnancy rate, and producers with the ability to have a large number of recipients programmed at once can then transfer all available embryos fresh when doing OPU on one or more donors.
An alternative way to maximise genetic gain and increase performance of all embryos is transferring grade 2 embryos fresh and freezing the grade 1 embryos to be used later.
Frozen offers big opportunities
Ready to explore how frozen embryos can transform your breeding program? Contact Andrew Donoghue to schedule your next OPU and discover how Vytelle’s proven technology is changing the game for Australian producers.
Andrew Donoghue | Regional Director Australia\NZ
M: +61 428 442 155 E: [email protected]
