FAQs
What you need to know about our technology, processes, and how we customise programs for your herd.
In conventional ET, a donor is hormone-treated to super-ovulate, and fertilization happens inside the cow. In IVF, unfertilized eggs (oocytes) are collected directly from the ovaries via Ovum Pick-Up (OPU) and fertilized in a laboratory. This allows for more frequent collections and often produces more embryos over a shorter period.
Because the process is minimally invasive and can be done without intensive hormone treatments, OPU can be performed as often as every two weeks. This is significantly more frequent than conventional flushing, which usually occurs every 60 days.
You can begin the OPU process as early as four weeks after calving. For the best results, ensure the donor has physically recovered and is back to cycling regularly before her first scheduled collection.
No. The OPU procedure is performed while the cow is standing and comfortable, typically using a local caudal anaesthetic. The process usually takes only 10–15 minutes.
Vitrification: a "flash-freeze" technique that prevents cell-damaging ice crystals, often offering the highest survival rates after thawing. Direct Transfer (DT): a "slow-freeze" process, allowing for simple, one-step thawing and implantation by any trained ET technician in the field - perfect for maximum efficiency on transfer day.
To ensure high pregnancy rates, recipient cows must be healthy, fertile, and carefully prepared. Success depends on selecting disease-free cows with a good body condition score (BCS) ranging between 2.5 to 3.5 (scale 1 to 5) and on a rising plane of nutrition, exhibit regular oestrus cycles with a functional corpus luteum, and be perfectly synchronized to match the age of the IVF embryo.
Not necessarily. While some protocols use low levels of hormones (FSH) to "stimulate" the follicles for better yields, IGT can perform non-stimulated collections. This makes the process simpler for the producer and gentler on the animal.
Yes. A major advantage of IVF is that oocytes can be collected from pregnant donors during the first trimester (up to approximately 100 days of gestation). This allows you to continue multiplying a cow's genetics even while she is carrying a calf.
IVF can be performed on juvenile heifers as young as 6 to 8 months of age, long before they are old enough to carry a calf themselves. This allows you to "leapfrog" generations and accelerate genetic gain in your herd.
Absolutely. IVF is actually a much more efficient use of sexed or rare semen than AI or ET. Because fertilization happens in a dish, one straw of high-value or sexed semen can be used to fertilize oocytes from multiple donors
On average, fresh IVF transfers range from 50–60% pregnancy rate. Frozen embryos (Vitrified or Direct Transfer) typically result in pregnancy rates approximately 10% lower than fresh transfers.Success rates are influenced by breed and age, but donor and recipient health are paramount. Achieving top results requires excellent nutritional management, proper body condition, and a stable environment to minimize stress throughout the IVF process.
For fresh transfer programs, our team will provide a production forecast 7 days post OPU in preparation for transfer day (8 days post OPU). A full report is delivered within a couple of days after the embryo transfer day. For frozen programs, final counts and comprehensive reports are typically available 9 - 10 days after collection.Our team is always on hand to walk you through your results and answer any questions.
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