Embryo Recovery and Transfer

Ewes can be programmed to produce lots of embryos which can be transferred into "recipient" ewes.

The programme can be carried out on farm by the owners or on centre by our technicians (usually with the owner putting the first sponge in and then bringing the donors to us a week later).

Recipients are always programmed on farm and brought on the day of the flush.

The ai,flushing and transfer can take place wholly on farm or on centre or a mixture of the two. For example a few donor ewes can come to us for the ai but then the flushing and transfer can take place on farm to avoid transporting a large number of recipients.

Smaller numbers of donors (4 or less) usually need to be ai'd/flushed on centre due to the volume of work at peak times of the year. They can still be programmed at home.

Glossary of Terms

Donor                                 -   the ewe that provides the eggs

Egg                                     -   unfertilized single cell produced by the ewe from her ovary

                                               this term is often used incorrectly instead of embryo

Embryo                               -   fertilized multi-cell individual formed by an egg and a sperm

Flush                                  -   process of retrieving the embryos from the uterus

Recipient                            -   the ewe that receives the eggs (surrogate if you like)