Embryo transplant is a process of transferring an embryo from the donor animal to its recipient. It can also be considered as a type of artificial insemination used to breed cattle and similar animals. This technique is mostly used in horses, cows, pigs, and other farm animals. A lot of countries engage in this technique to increase farm production. And right now, there are even companies that provide professional services when it comes to applying the embryo transplant techniques.

Embryo transplant is normally used so that the number of high quality animals is increased. Bad cows, for example, can be replaced with pure cows with enhanced reproduction abilities. If embryo transplant is thoroughly implemented there won’t be any bad cows existing in the farms anymore after a considerable period of time. The end result of the whole process would be better farm produce and higher profit for the owner.

There are two basic techniques with which embryo transplant can be performed. These two techniques can be categorized into the surgical technique and the non-surgical technique. In the surgical procedure, an embryo is implanted from the donor animal to the recipient animal’s uterus. To perform this accordingly, an incision is to be made in the recipient animal’s vaginal lateral wall, all the way into its cervix’s posterior. Then embryo would be implanted going to the cannula down to its uterine horn right after incision. After the embryo is inserted, the cannula will be withdrawn to complete entire surgical embryo transplant technique.

To perform the surgical method properly, basic surgical measures need to be undertaken. For one thing, the whole process should be performed by a qualified veterinarian with the necessary surgical clearance. Failure to comply with simple requisite could cause the whole procedure of embryo transplant to fail altogether.

But if the surgical method of transplanting embryos is widely implemented, the non-surgical way of doing it is getting popular as of current time. The non-surgical technique of embryo transplant is not applicable to pigs or sows until just recently. This new and innovative method discovered by Netherland’s Wageningen Agricultural University.

The non-surgical embryo transplant technique basically works the same like artificial insemination. But its better feature would just be the ability of the procedure to be brought over the farm than the other way around. To perform the technique, a special catheter device is used. It is the catheter that replaces the need to incise the vagina of the receiving animal because through it, an opening from which the embryo can be inserted is created.

A catheter is a thin and bent but rather flexible rod that is commonly used together with another thin tube. These are the things essential to make the procedure work. Both the end of the tube and the rod are inserted through the recipient animal’s cervix up until it reaches the main body of its uterus. The embryos are transferred with the use of a liquid substance, and usually, only three fluid ounce of it is required. Once done, the embryo would be nestling the horns of the uterus.

The non-surgical embryo transplant technique is a lot simpler than the surgical way of doing it. The turn around time of the whole process is not more than 15 days. The embryo is fertilized for around 5 days, and then it is made to age for another 5 days before it is placed in the recipient’s uterus. And after 5 days of placing the embryo inside the recipient, it will be in the estrus, where it would grow and be nurtured naturally.

But before either these two procedures are carried out, it is important that the embryo to be transplanted is observed and checked by the veterinarian accordingly. Here is where embryo microscopy enters. An embryo transplant procedure won’t be successful if the health and the structure of the embryo is not ensured beforehand. And doing just that won’t be possible without the use of embryo microscopes.

Embryo transplants are a very successful way of enhancing, strengthening, and increasing the breed of a certain animal. While its main application today is still in farms, only science and technology can tell where else it can be used in the near and distant future. Embryo transplants indeed are a big help in improving farm life and production for the benefit of all consumers living in the different parts of the world. The choice whether to use surgical or the non-surgical method would be depended upon the suitability of the procedure in a given animal and its environment.