A Descriptive Study of Culture Media in Brazilian Assisted Reproduction Clinics

Objective: The present study aimed to draw a profile of the most commonly used media and protocol characteristics from assisted reproduction technology (ART) facilities in Brazil.

Methods: To obtain an overview of ART methods and culture media, a questionnaire was given to embryologists from ART clinics in Brazil. Further research in scientific papers and journals was carried out for describing the processes around Brazil, USA and Europe.

Results: From the questionnaire, we found that the embryo medium mostly used is CSCMTM from Irvine Scientific, represented 37.04% in Brazilian ART clinics; interestingly, 70.37% of clinics exchange the embryo media bath; however, 70.37% do not change the media type. Transfers in Brazilian clinics were variable, but day 3 transfer was a procedure seen in 37.04%. The remaining embryos are habitually maintained in prolonged cultivation in 51.85% of the clinics interviewed.

Conclusion: Although there are numerous studies trying to better understand embryo culture media influences, there is a lack of evidence for choosing one as the most appropriate. In short, it is a random decision for such an essential stage of In Vitro Fertilization.