Background: Hydrogen sulfide has been shown to improve the quality of oocytes destined for in vitro fertilization. Although hydrogen sulfide is capable of modulating ion channel activity in somatic cells, the role of hydrogen sulfide in gametes and embryos remains unknown. Our observations confirmed the hypothesis that the K-ATP and L-type Ca2+ ion channels play roles in porcine oocyte ageing and revealed a plausible contribution of hydrogen sulfide to the modulation of ion channel activity.