Human embryonic stem cells derived from frozen-thawed embryo

Patent Number: 6921632

This patent covers a new way of extracting embryonic stem cells from human blastocyst embryos that have been frozed. The patent is assigned to a Korean Infertility Clinic. It appears that some of the ES cell lines made by this clinic are on the NIH list.

The patent has 2 independent claims:

A process for making undifferentiated human embryonic stem cells, comprising the steps of: (a) thawing a cryopreserved human blastocyst embryo; (b) isolating the inner cell mass by a process comprising the step of removing the trophectoderm from said embryo using anti-human lymphocyte antibody; and © culturing at least a portion of said inner cell mass on a medium capable of sustaining undifferentiated embryonic stem cells, whereby undifferentiated human embryonic stem cells are established.

A process for making undifferentiated human embryonic stem cells comprising the steps of: (a) obtaining at least two cryogenically stored human embryos, wherein said at least two embryos consist solely of embryos in the blastocyst phase; (b) thawing one or more of said at least two embryos; © isolating the inner cell mass by a process comprising the step of removing the trophectoderm from said embryo using anti-human lymphocyte antibody; and (d) culturing at least a portion of each of said inner cell mass on a medium capable of sustaining undifferentiated embryonic stem cells; whereby undifferentiated human embryonic stem cells are established.

View this patent on the USPTO website.