187 A review of the results of a commercial ovum pickup program for the production of equine embryos via intracytoplasmic sperm injection over the past nine breeding seasons; 2014–2022

The utilisation of ovum pickup (OPU) for the production of equine embryos via intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) has increased significantly over the past 10 years. In 2014 a private practice in central Kentucky incorporated OPU into its reproductive services. Oocytes were aspirated and subsequently shipped to commercial ICSI laboratories for production of embryos. From 2014 to ~2020, the majority of the embryos produced were transferred fresh either at a recipient herd located at the site of the ICSI laboratory or shipped to an off-site recipient herd. Subsequent to 2020, the number of embryos being produced via OPU/ICSI started to exceed the capacity of recipient herds, and the trend shifted towards vitrification of these embryos for transfer at a later date. These data reflect the increased usage of OPU to produce embryos in a commercial setting since 2014 (Table 1).