Diamour®, a newly vitrification device for human blastocysts, provides the same efficient perinatal outcomes as the commonly used Cryotop®

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of Diamour®, a newly developed vitrification device, for the ultra-rapid frozen storage of human blastocysts. Materials and methods: Surplus blastocysts obtained using assisted reproductive technology at our clinic during a 2-year period (2018–2019) were assigned for vitrification with the Diamour® device in 2019 or a comparator device in 2018. We retrospectively compared outcomes (clinical pregnancy rate, abortion rate, live birth rate, and perinatal outcomes) between the two vitrification devices. Results: We obtained 228 blastocysts from 178 patients, and 118 blastocysts were cryopreserved using the Diamour® vitrification device and the other 110 were cryopreserved using a Cryotop®, the comparator device. We found no significant difference between the Diamour®-vitrified and comparator-vitrified blastocysts in clinical pregnancy rate (32.2% vs. 30.9%; p = 0.83), abortion rate (17.0% vs. 9.1%; p = 0.08), and live birth rate (25.4% vs. 26.4%; p = 0.87). The Diamour®-vitrified blastocysts yielded 30 live births, and the comparator-vitrified blastocysts 29. The two devices yielded no significant difference in birth weight (Diamour®: 3049 ± 337 g, comparator: 3008 ± 340 g; p = 0.65) and congenital abnormalities, with just 1 case (cleft lip) noted with Diamour® vitrification (p = 0.33). The devices also showed no significant differences in the incidence of gestational diabetes mellitus, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, placenta previa, preterm birth, macrosomia, low birth weight, and delivery method. Conclusion: The Diamour® device achieves outcomes similar to those of the currently widely used Cryotop® device for clinical pregnancy with frozen-thawed human blastocysts.

Keywords

• Infertility
• Pregnancy
• Assisted reproductive technology