Evogene’s all-star Wagyu donors are owned by clients who are dedicated to bettering their herd’s progress. This exceptional “P” donor consistently outperforms the breed average in both numbers of eggs produced, embryo output, and pregnancy rates. With a prior history of a hip injury rendering her unable to naturally carry a calf again, she received medical management by our veterinary staff to control any pain. Stable and sound, she became an excellent candidate for IVF.
This exceptional donor has been collected 7 times over 12 months, averaging 49.8 eggs collected per OPU. Her eggs have been fertilised with 8 different sires. We customise our IVF programs for high producing donors, allowing the division of eggs between multiple sires and increasing the genetic diversity from each OPU session.
From these 7 egg collections, we have created 188 grade 1 embryos (26.8 embryo average!), with pregnancy rates thus far of 63% (59/94) for fresh embryos, and 79% (23/29) for frozen embryos. Our precise vitrification and warming protocols ensure the viability of our frozen embryos, and we consistently see similar or higher pregnancy rates with our frozen embryos.
This case study illustrates the potential for successful outcomes following injury when supported by careful Veterinary management and precision reproductive techniques. While this donor made an exceptional recovery and returned to high production these outcomes are not typical of all cases, instead reflects what is possible with a tailored, collaborative approach.
Evogene was presented with some frozen sexed semen for IVF that had reduced post-thaw motility and no history of IVF use. Our client wanted to maximise the number of embryos produced from their OPU, whilst still skewing the sex towards female calves. We customised their program, using the sexed semen over 9 of their 21 Donors, and conventional semen from the same bull for the remaining donors. By adapting our insemination protocol for these 9 donors, we utilised both the sexed semen and conventional semen from the same bull at various intervals to maximise the overall fertilisation rate, whilst still giving the sexed semen the first opportunity to fertilise the eggs. We achieved 80% and 82% Cleavage rates for the sexed semen and conventional semen respectively, with an average of 4.3 Grade 1 embryos per donor for the sexed group, and 6.4 average for the conventional group. Our client was very happy to obtain an increased number of embryos overall, which resulted in a 58% pregnancy rate (64% in sexed group, 54% in conventional), with the desired skew to 74% female calves overall (94% female in the sexed group and 50% female in the conventional group). These results demonstrate the adaptability of Evogene, where we can customise your program to work towards your individual goals.
This case study highlights what is possible when using sexed semen in combination with Evogene’s tailored reproductive services. These results are not guaranteed in all scenarios, but reflect what can be achieved under optimal conditions with a collaborative, precision-based approach.
At Evogene, we know that your reproductive goals and programs expectations are unique. Our focus is on precision and customisation, ensuring that each donor group receives the optimal approach to maximise results.
While several breed groups perform exceptionally well without the use of FSH, with our tailored stimulation protocol, we recently achieved an average of 9.4 Grade 1 embryos per Wagyu donor—a testament to the donors and the impact of individualised reproductive management. In this case, Folltropin® (Vetoquinol) played a key role in optimising ovarian response and enhancing embryo quality and yield. Industry data out of North America has already demonstrated the positive impact of FSH in bovine IVF programs, and by refining stimulation protocols to support donor longevity, Evogene is setting a new benchmark in reproductive efficiency in Australia.
Our approach is simple: We do what’s right for the animal and the client, adapting our strategies to achieve the best outcome for each program.
This case study highlights what is possible when using superstimulation alongside Evogene’s tailored reproductive protocols. While these results are not guaranteed in every case, they demonstrate what can be achieved under optimal conditions with a personalised, precision-based approach.
