Research Question: In the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, IVF clinics stopped the majority of patient treatment cycles to minimize the risk of disease transmission. The risk of SARS-CoV-2 viral exposure and potential cross contamination within the IVF lab remains largely unclear. To that end, the objective of this study was to examine follicular fluid (FF), culture media (M) and vitrification solution (VS) for SARS-CoV-2 in an IVF lab. Design : Prospective clinical study. All females undergoing transvaginal oocyte retrieval (TVOR) were required to have a negative SARS-CoV-2 RNA test 3-4 days prior to the procedure. Male partners were not tested. All cases utilized intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). The first tube of FF aspirated during oocyte retrieval, M drops following removal of embryos on day 5, and VS after blastocyst cryopreservation were analyzed for SARS-CoV-2 RNA. Results: In total, M from 61 patients, VS from 200 patients, and FF from 300 patients were analyzed. All samples were negative for SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA. Conclusion(s): With stringent safety protocols in place, including female patient testing and symptom-based screening of men, the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA was not detected in FF, M or VS. This work demonstrates the possibility of implementing a rapid laboratory screening assay for SARS-CoV-2 and has implications for safe laboratory operations, including cryostorage recommendations.

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Objective: To assess the impact of shipment and storage of sperm, oocytes, and blastocysts in vapor phase nitrogen compared with static storage in liquid phase nitrogen. Design: Prospective cohort-matched study. Setting: Multiple in vitro fertilization laboratories in an in vitro fertilization network. Patient(s): Fifty-eight human embryos, 32 human oocytes, 15 units of bovine semen. Intervention(s): Vapor vs. liquid nitrogen. Main Outcome Measure(s): The postwarming survival of oocytes, sperm, and blastocysts, and the developmental potential of blastocysts during in vitro extended culture. Result(s): Custom-designed labware, for use with the TMRW platform, enables continuous temperature monitoring during shipment and/or storage in the vapor phase robotic storage system. The highest temperature recorded for specimens shipped to a domestic laboratory was À180.2 C with a mean AE SD of À190.4 AE 0.5 C during shipment and À181.1 AE 0.6 C during storage. Likewise, specimens shipped internationally had a high of À180.2 C with a mean AE SD of À193.5 AE 0.6 C during shipment and À181.2 AE 0.7 C during storage. Results from the extended culture assays have revealed no deleterious effect of shipment and storage in nitrogen vapor. The viability of mammalian gametes and embryos was equivalent between the vapor phase and liquid phase storage. Conclusion(s):The evaluated system did not have any deleterious effects on the postwarming survival of sperm, oocytes, and blastocysts. The postwarming developmental potential of human blastocysts during in vitro extended culture was unaffected by storage and handling in the vapor phase nitrogen TMRW platform when compared with static liquid phase nitrogen storage. Our results suggest that the vapor phase cryostorage platform is a safe system to handle and store reproductive specimens for human assisted reproductive technology. (Fertil Steril Sci Ò 2021;2:268-77. Ó2021 by American Society for Reproductive Medicine.