Recombinant versus urinary human chorionic gonadotrophin for final oocyte maturation triggering in IVF and ICSI cycles.

For the last few decades urinary human chorionic gonadotrophin (uhCG) has been used to trigger final oocyte maturation in cycles of in vitro fertilization (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Recombinant technology has allowed the production of two drugs, recombinant human chorionic gonadotrophin (rhCG) and recombinant luteinising hormone (rLH), that can be used for the same purpose, to mimic the endogenous luteinising hormone (LH) surge. This allows commercial manufacturers to adjust production according to market requirements and to remove all urinary contaminants, facilitating the safe subcutaneous administration of a compound with less batch-to-batch variation. However, prior to a change in practice, it is necessary to compare the effectiveness of the recombinant drugs to the currently used urinary human chorionic gonadotrophin (uhCG).