ABSTRACT
Multiple ovulation and embryo transfer (MOET) involves the vise of drugs to stimulate multiple ovulation, followed by the retrieval and transfer of the resulting embryos from a donor cow to as many recipient cows as are necessary for completion of the pregnancies. Artificial insemination has been a powerful tool to increase the intensity of genetic selection in breeding schemes in the developed countries when combined with the analysis of the milk production records of the bulls' daughters. MOET can be utilized as a stand-alone breeding technology or, preferably, in combination with artificial insemination. Scientific advances are making the MOET technique increasingly economical. The freezing and thawing of embryos are routine, with little effect on embryo viability. MOET might also be utilized along with simple crossbreeding to increase the genetic potential of dairy cows. Preliminary analysis indicated that this approach was the most likely to allow profitable use of MOET in developing countries in the intermediate future.
