The Manager of the Embryology Unit at Instituto Bernabeu addresses ova and ovarian tissue vitrification on the Master’s Course in Human Reproduction given at Complutense University

The Manager of the Embryology Unit at Instituto Bernabeu, Dr Jorge Ten, gave a lecture on the Master’s Course in Human Reproduction organised by Complutense University in Madrid (UCM) and the Spanish Fertility Society (SEF).

Dr Ten gave a lecture entitled ‘Ova and ovarian tissue vitrification’ on the Faculty of Medicine’s own master’s course. Specialist Dr Ten has been involved with the master’s course since the 2008-2009 edition and, on this occasion, he addressed vitrification techniques from a practical point of view. The students were given an explanation of the best protocols and how they work.

Last year, the Master’s Course in Human Reproduction and Instituto Bernabeu in Madrid reinforced the training that students receive by signing an agreement that facilitates work experience for a student at the clinic’s facilities.

Instituto Bernabeu is a pioneering clinic and it is at the forefront of the vitrification process both for gametes and for embryos. The technique avoids the formation of ice crystals inside the cells and it has increased survival rates in comparison with other freezing techniques that need a robust vitrification programme and experienced biologists.

Instituto Bernabeu performs oocyte vitrification for various reasons. They include preserving fertility so that women can choose when to become mothers; for medical reasons when patients have cancer and their fertility could be affected as a result of cancer treatment; for ethical and moral reasons when patients do not wish to freeze embryos during in vitro fertilisation (IVF); in order to increase the chances of pregnancy when a patient has poor ovarian response; and for treating patients who have endometriosis so that they can choose to postpone fertility.