In Vitro Maturation and Culture of Human Oocytes.

We describe the collection, culture, and ex vivo, in vitro maturation of germinal vesicle (GV) oocytes obtained from human small antral follicles (hSAFs). hSAFs contain fully grown GV oocytes and have the advantages that they are more numerous than large or mature follicles, which are used in IVF treatment. hSAFs can be obtained directly from human ovarian tissue without exogenous gonadotrophin stimulation and therefore allows studies of oocytes even from young women and girls. The method described here was developed to study human female meiosis but could in theory also be used for fertility treatment.