|
Well... Its probably a problem. Embryos are routinely cooled to room temperature during the inital phases of cryopreservation with no ill effects. However, this is for a brief 20 minute interval in the presence of cryoprotectants. Not a prolonged period.
I found this study about the effect of cooling to room temperature on eggs - not embryos. Embryos may be different. Meiotic spindles hold the chromosomes together inside the cell. If the spidles disintegrate, the chromomes are left free-floating. Definately not a good thing. Can lead to abnormal number of chromosomes in each of the daughter cells following subsequent cell division.
Summary as follows:
Hum Reprod. 2001 Nov;16(11):2374-8.
[b]Limited recovery of meiotic spindles in living human ocytes after cooling-rewarming observed using polarized light microscopy.[/b]
Wang WH, Meng L, Hackett RJ, Odenbourg R, Keefe DL.
CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that human meiotic spindles are exquisitely sensitive to alterations in temperature. The maintenance of temperature at 37 degrees C during in-vitro manipulation is important for spindle integrity and, therefore, is likely to be important for normal fertilization and subsequent embryo development.
I don't know your location, but all IVF labs in the US must have an emergency back up system to prevent power failures from affecting incubator function. If the incubator itself malfunctioned, there was no way to forsee this. Preventitive maintenence may have prevented this from occuring, but not necessarily.
|