1. The recipient must be seen in standing heat 7 days before the day of transfer.
2. Palpate the recipient for the presence of a functional CL or run a progesterone test prior to thawing the embryo. If a CL is not present or the progesterone level is not high enough to support a pregnancy, do not thaw the embryo.

   When using the progesterone test, after finding an acceptable progesterone level, palpate the recipient and determine which ovary is the largest, as this should be the ovary with the CL. The embryo must be transferred into the uterine horn that corresponds to the ovary with the CL.

3. Remove the straw from the goblet in the liquid nitrogen tank and hold it in the air for 2.5 seconds.
4. Place the embryo straw in 70 degree F water for a minimum of 15 seconds.
5. Remove embryo straw from the water bath, pull off the pressed-on label straw, dry off the embryo straw and load into ET gun.
6. Cut off the sealed end of the embryo straw at a 90 degree angle, 1/8 inch from the end of the ET gun.
7. Cover the blue ET sheath with a clear outer sheath. Place the blue ET sheath with the metal tip over the loaded ET gun. Push down firmly so that it sits down onto the end of the cut straw. Secure the ET sheath with the blue plastic ring.
8. After the ET gun is loaded, keep it in a horizontal position when carrying it to the recipient. By doing so, the embryo stays in the center of the straw's fluid column.
9. To transfer the embryo, pass the ET gun up to the cervix and pull the outer clear sheath back. Then pass the ET gun gently through the cervix and into the uterine horn corresponding to the ovary with the CL. Try to place the embryo gun 3 to 6 inches down the horn, then discharge the embryo. DO NOT MASSAGE THE UTERUS.
10. It is IMPORTANT you file paperwork with the appropriate breed association.

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• At least 90 days fresh,
• in a gaining plane of nutrition, and
• checked by a vet and given a clean bill of health.
  

NorthStar sends the producer a shot schedule and the producer administers shots over a four and one half day period. On the morning of the sixth day the donor should be in a superovulated heat. She should be bred that night and given a shot of GnRH and then bred again the next morning. If she is still showing signs of heat at the second breeding she should then be bred a third time that evening. If there are any deviations from the schedule or the donor does not show a good standing heat at the proper time, call NorthStar.

Recovery Process:
Seven days after onset of superovulated heat NorthStar staff will recover the embryos. The donor needs to be confined for this procedure (head chute, or tied in a comfort stall). The actual recovery takes about 45 minutes. Finding the embryos in the solution is the next step and this requires a clean, warm room with an electrical outlet. This procedure, which uses a microscope takes about 1 1/2 hours. At this point the embryos can be directly transferred into recipients, or be prepared for freezing and frozen at the farm.

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