Rescuing Discarded Eggs: A Breakthrough in Stem Cell Research

On the order of half of the human eggs collected during fertility procedures are not robust enough for reproductive use and are discarded by egg banks. BRF scientists developed a new human egg transport system that makes it possible to rescue and study these otherwise lost eggs for stem cell research.

As egg freezing has become more common, especially among younger donors, the number of eggs collected has grown, along with the number discarded for not meeting clinical standards. Until recently, it was difficult and costly to transport these unfertilized eggs to research laboratories due to their fragility. BRF new transport system marks a significant step forward on the path to universal parthenote stem cells for everybody.

The new Ambient Temperature Transport Medium (ATTM) is so novel and useful that patent protection is now in progress, following submission of a full research report on the findings. For the first time, eggs that could not previously survive transport to a lab can now be safely delivered for research.
This advance allows BRF to study an increased number of human eggs that were previously discarded — turning a lost resource into a vital one. These rescued eggs not only expand the Foundation’s ability to develop parthenote stem cells—an alternative to embryo-derived cells—but also provide valuable insight into human egg maturation more broadly.