Industry Insights

A new use for an old technology

By Emily Warnimont, director of industry relations at Trans Ova Genetics

In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) is a reproductive tool that many cattle breeders have successfully utilized and implemented within their breeding program. While there are many benefits associated with IVF, many producers do not realize that the procedure can be performed on pregnant cows and heifers. Creating pregnancies from a donor that is gestating her natural calf holds tremendous opportunity for livestock breeders to capture the most value from their best cows. It can be a great opportunity to generate offspring from elite heifers, and still have them calve at the appropriate time. IVF can be performed on pregnant cows because the process involves harvesting unfertilized oocytes (unfertile eggs) directly from the ovaries, and the uterus and pregnancy are not disturbed by the procedure.

The Process

After a client has confirmed the donor is 30 days pregnant, the IVF procedure is initiated, and collections occur every other week. This occurs until approximately day 100 of the pregnancy, when the ovaries can no longer be reached for retrieval.

Expected Results

“Usually, we expect around 6 to 7 embryo transfers per OPU (ovum pick up), with variation in results depending on the individual,” says Hong Wei, Chief Scientific Officer at Trans Ova Genetics. “Results from utilizing IVF on pregnant donors have been very pleasing.” One unique thing about IVF on pregnant donors is that pregnant donors usually produce better quality of oocytes than non-pregnant donors, which can lead to better quality grades in the resulting embryos…which translates into more pregnant recipients and ultimately calves. “As a group, pregnant donors tend to produce embryos at a level that is at or above the average of open donors. Some breeders have even used this ability as a tool to improve embryo production from donors who have had unsatisfactory results when they were open.” Sara Kober, Director of Marketing. When performing IVF on pregnant donors, there is a small risk of loss of the pregnancy. The extra handling and/or trucking of the donor may carry as much risk as the procedure itself, but nonetheless, producers should be aware that there is a low element of risk involved. However, the risk-benefit ratio is quite favorable, and this technology has been widely accepted by breeders in both the beef and dairy industries.

Benefits

“The ability to create IVF embryos from pregnant donors is an extremely powerful tool for both beef and dairy producers to utilize in their breeding programs,” says Kober. “A reproductively healthy donor can now extend her genetic influence without being relegated to the status of a permanent donor within the herd. This benefit is especially important for heifers, as it allows them to prove their ability to perform by calving on track with their herd mates.”

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