04/22/2026
๐ฟ๐๐๐ ๐ผ๐๐๐๐๐ผ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ ๐ผ๐๐๐๐พ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐?
A couple common questions we get about the OPU (Oocyte Pickup) process is: Do mares have a finite number of oocytes, and can OPU shorten their reproductive lifespan?
๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ธ๐ด ๐ช๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐๐๐ ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ ๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ถ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐บ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆโ๐ด๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฅ๐ถ๐ค๐ต๐ช๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ข๐ญ!
๐๐๐ง๐โ๐จ ๐ฌ๐๐ฎ:
โ
Mares are born with all the primary oocytes theyโll ever have, and these remain microscopic within the ovarian tissue. As a mare cycles, a small group of these oocytes are โrecruitedโ to grow, but only one matures enough to ovulate. The remaining regress naturally and die off.
โ
With OPU and ICSI (Intracytoplasmic S***m Injection), weโre able to harvest all of the available oocytes in one sessionโmeaning no valuable oocytes go to waste. Plus, OPU doesnโt harm the remaining microscopic oocytes in the ovaries; they stay dormant and ready for future cycles.