Video Transcript
What is stored at very cold
temperatures in gamete banks? Fertilized eggs, embryos, sperm
only, unfertilized eggs and sperm, or unfertilized eggs only.
This question is asking us about
gamete banks and what’s stored in them. A gamete bank is a facility where
gametes are stored at very low temperatures, usually using liquid nitrogen. This is often used as a method for
fertility preservation. For example, somebody who was
recently diagnosed with cancer may need to have their eggs or sperm preserved
because the chemotherapy treatment may make them sterile. Their gametes can be extracted and
then processed and frozen at either an egg bank or a sperm bank. These gametes can be stored for a
long time in these conditions. And once the individual is ready to
build a family, they could thaw them.
Since these gametes are outside the
body, a special procedure called in vitro fertilization, or IVF, may be needed to
fertilize the eggs to create embryos. The embryo created during IVF can
then be transferred to the uterus where it can implant and give rise to a
pregnancy. Now, let’s review these answer
choices to see which one best answers this question. The answer “fertilized eggs” is not
correct because a fertilized egg is not a gamete. Although these can be stored at IVF
clinics, generally fertilized eggs would not be stored in a gamete bank. “Embryos” is also incorrect because
again they aren’t gametes. These can also be frozen and stored
in liquid nitrogen, although this is generally done using an IVF clinic and not a
gamete bank.
“Sperm only” is only partially
correct since sperm can be stored in a sperm bank, which is a kind of gamete bank,
although eggs can also be stored in gamete banks. So let’s see if there’s a better
answer. “Unfertilized eggs and sperm” seems
like a good choice since they’re both gametes and they can both be stored at either
egg or sperm banks, which are both gamete banks. “Unfertilized eggs only” is only
partially correct since unfertilized eggs are gametes, but sperm can also be stored
at gamete banks. Therefore, the answer that best
describes what’s stored at gamete banks is “unfertilized eggs and sperm.”
