JBRA Assisted Reproduction 2025;29(Suppl.2 SBRA 2025):223
Poster Presentation
29th Annual Congress of the SBRA. São Paulo/SP - Brazil, 2025
doi: 10.5935/1518-0557.20263859
P-211. Sperm refreezing does not impair embryonic development: a retrospective analysis of 52 ICSI cycles
Thais Ventura Feitosa1, Camila Macedo Medina1, Karla Pacheco de Melo1, Ivan Henrique Yoshida1, Emerson Bar-chi Cordts1, Caio Parente Barbosa1
1 Instituto Ideia Fértil de Saúde Reprodutiva - São Paulo – SP - Brasil
Objective: Evaluate whether sperm refreezing impacts embryonic development parameters in laboratory outcomes
Methods: A retrospective study was conducted between July 2021 and May 2025 including 52 ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection) cycles using donor semen. The control group consisted of cycles using spermatozoa thawed for the first time, whereas the study group included subsequent cycles using the same sample after refreezing. The mean age of the patients included in the study was 38 years. Fertilization, cleavage, blastocyst formation and euploidy rates were evaluated by preimplantation genetic testing. Statistical analyses were performed using the repeated-measures t-test in Jamovi software (version 2.5). Results were expressed as mean values for each group, with the corresponding t value and the level of statistical significance, considering p<0.05 as statistically significant.
Results: No statistically significant differences were found between the groups regarding fertilization rate (mean=71.8 vs 72.6, t(25)=-0.135, p=0.894), cleavage rate (mean=94.2 vs 100, t(24)=-1.408, p=0.172), blastocyst formation rate (mean=46.4 vs 47.3, t(24)=-0.110, p=0.913), and euploidy rate (mean=23.0 vs 32.0, t(9)=-0.684, p=0.511).
Conclusion: Although sperm sample refreezing may be associated with potential deleterious effects due to cryopreservation, it can represent a viable strategy in specific contexts. In the case of donor semen, this practice may increase the number of viable cycles obtained from a single sample. In addition, refreezing is also relevant in fertility preservation programs for oncology patients, without showing any significant impairment in the laboratory outcomes evaluated in the present study.