Effect of Chemical versus Mechanical Oocyte Activation on Morphokinetic Embryonic Development in Oligoasthenoteratozoospermia Patients

Objective: Assisted oocyte activation (AOA) is applied in male factor infertility for improving the successful fertilization rate. However, the safety and efficacy of AOA technique remain unknown. The aim of this study is the comparison of two different mechanical and chemical AOA methods on pre-implantation morphokinetic development of embryos derived from oligoasthenoteratozoospermia patients. Methods This study was applied in 65 cycles achieved between 2020 and 2022; 137 embryos were derived from ICSI-chemical AOA cycles and 124 embryos from ICSI-mechanical AOA cycles. Morphokinetic characteristics of all embryos were monitored via a time-lapse system. Results Our results showed similar morphokinetic development in both early and late-stage embryonic development in two different groups of this study. Conclusions Our results suggest that both mechanical and chemical methods AOA have the same effect on morphokinetic pattern of pre-implantation embryo development in oligoasthenoteratozoospermia.