Activf-ET

About Activf-ET

Activf-ET in partnership with Boviteq, delivers cattle IVF laboratory services to breeders throughout the UK through our satellite OPU (ovum pickup partners). Based in Newbiggin, near Penrith, Cumbria, the lab has developed through a number of research projects and collaborations to provide the highest quality IVF service available.

You can find links to our partner teams below.

At the heart of Activf-ET is a commitment to ongoing research and development to further develop these advanced breeding technologies to the advantage of the UK herd.

IVF Process

IVF in cattle is really a number of processes. These are:

OPU (ovum pickup - the collection of unfertilised eggs from female donors)
Maturation - preparation of oocytes for fertilisation
Fertilisation - the preparation of semen and addition to the eggs
Culture - the development of fertilised eggs to transferrable embryos (blastocysts) over 7 days ready for transfer or freezing.

You can see more about these stages in the videos below.

Advantages

IVF can offer a number of advantages over conventional flushing (MOET)

A larger number of offspring can be generated in a shorter time frame
Process is non-surgical and requires no treatment other than epidural anaesthesia and a hormone programme
OPU collections can be performed fortnightly
Oocytes can be collected from both juvenile heifers (around 7 months of age) and pregnant donors during the first trimester
Technique can be used on animals with a range of reproductive disorders
Less semen used per fertilisation so multiple donors can be fertilised with a single straw
Wide range of bulls can be used due to frequency of collection