” “"50% of frozen embryos stop growing because they are damaged by the defrosting process". This was announced today by Adriano Bompiani, director of the International Scientific Institute (Isi) of Rome’s Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, as he answered the journalists’ questions at a press conference for the presentation of the International Conference, "Human embryo at re-implantation. Scientific aspects and bioethical considerations", due to be held in the Vatican on February 27th and 28th on the occasion of the XII General Assembly of the Papal Academy for Life. "Even if the media do not cover these news said Bompiani there are by now plenty of studies on the effects of the freezing of embryos and its possibilities of recovery after freezing. The fertilised oocyte, especially if frozen before the two nuclei are joined together, the co-called ‘ootid’ explained the expert most often than not produces a destruction, which can be hardly repaired, in the proteins that compose the skeleton and then allow the development to go on". If instead the embryo is frozen later, at the stage of the four blastomeres (day 3/4), one or more blastomeres may happen to be damaged, thus affecting the viability of the others". After defrosting, recalled Bompiani, the embryo is put back into the culture medium: "If it revives, then it is transferred into the woman’s uterus, otherwise it goes lost". A "real problem", this one, that the European legislations "have tackled with different attitudes, especially in Europe", but one that "bioethical experts and the media have a duty to report".” “
