Candida contamination of embryos in the ART laboratory:
a case report and literature review
Elena Poli, Marlene Obkircher, Giorgio Comploj, Paolo Netzbandt, Ugo Sorrentino, Daniela Zuccarello;
N.I.D.O.: Carlo Alviggi, Giulia Scaravelli, Roberta Venturella, Chiara Faggionato
Objective: To report a case of yeast contamination with adhesion of hyphae to the zona pellucida. Design: A case report and brief literature review. Setting: Nextclinic Fertility Center, Merano (Italy). Patient(s): A 32-year infertile patient facing microbial contamination of her embryos after thawing. Results: Due to the heavy contamination of the embryo by yeast, embryo transfer (ET) was not carried out, resulting in cancellation of the cycle. Conclusions: A very rare case involving embryos contaminated by Candida is here described. Strategies and practical measures to prevent the risk of cross-contamination in the storage tanks of cryobanks are illustrated. Zona pellucida removal may be a possible method to rescue contaminated embryos for ET.
KEY WORDS: In vitro fertilization, yeast contamination, cryopreservation, zona pellucida.
