Evaluation of human fetal cord sera, Ham's F-10 medium, and in vitro culture materials with a mouse in vivo fertilization system.

A total of 54 human fetal cord sera, 42 lots of Ham's F-10 medium, and 36 lots of plastics were tested during a 10-month period with a mouse in vivo fertilization system. Two-cell embryos were collected from the oviducts of superovulated and mated (C57BL/6 X CBA)F1 mice. After collection, 2-cell embryos were distributed among test media and a modified Krebs-Ringer control medium. The test material passed quality control standards if a minimum of 80% of the original 2-cell embryos reached the blastocyst stage. Of the 54 cord sera examined, 8 (15%) were below our standards; 6 (14%) of the Ham's F-10 media and 4 (11%) of the plastics failed to pass minimum requirements. In all cases, the failed materials promoted slower-growing mouse embryos and increased the number of degenerates. It is our opinion that the mouse in vivo fertilization system has a valuable place in any in vitro fertilization program.