Ovum Pick UP (OPU)

Overview

Ovum pick up (OPU) is the first step of a lengthy laboratory procedure to have a healthy baby born in the family. To maximize the patient's likelihood of giving birth to a healthy child, meticulous attention to detail at every stage of the treatment is crucial. A stable and ideal environment for oocyte fertilization and embryo growth must be provided by the in vitro fertilization (IVF) laboratory.

Ovum exposure to unsuitable circumstances may prevent fertilization and early development. It is widely acknowledged that reducing the amount of stress placed on gametes and embryos during their manipulation in the IV laboratory is essential for achieving the best results. These possible stressors include a range of laboratory-controlled environmental variables, such as temperature and the pH of the growth medium. To safeguard zygote and embryo homeostasis, precautions must be made to maintain acceptable pH and temperature settings.

Because HEPES buffer media acts as a buffer, it maintains a stable pH and is used for ovum pick up. Oocyte recovery and processing have to be completed rapidly for workflow purposes, but temperature control is even more crucial. The oocytes must be maintained as close to body temperature (about 37°C) as feasible because it is known that the meiotic spindle begins to de-polymerize at about 35°C. The spindle spontaneously reassembles after temperature-induced de-polymerization, although mistakes made during this process may result in aneuploidy.