Purpose: The efficacy of homologous oviductal cell coculture on the success of a human in vitro fertilization program was investigated in a prospective randomized control clinical trial.
Methods and results: One hundred eighty-one couples were randomized into the control and the coculture groups. Pronuclear-stage zygotes were either cultured in Earles' balanced salt solution supplemented with 15% preovulatory serum (control) or cultured with human oviductal cells (coculture) for 24 hr before embryo transfer. There was no difference in the age of the patients, indication for treatment, number of oocyte retrieved or fertilized, or number of embryo replaced between the two groups. The pregnancy rates per transfer for the control and the coculture group were 12.8 and 19.3%, respectively. The number of viable fetus was significantly higher (P < 0.01, chi-square test) in the coculture group (25/264) than in the control group (8/262). The coculture group also showed a higher multiple pregnancy rate, lower abortion rate, and more spare embryos suitable for cryopreservation.