Should we do D5 transfer, or freeze and do another IVF?

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bcamille

Should we do D5 transfer, or freeze and do another IVF?

Post by bcamille »

Hello,
My husband (35) and I (36) are looking for some advice as to our next steps. We just had a retrieval on Saturday, August 24th, in which they collected 9 eggs, 8 mature, 4 fertilized. This morning we were told that all 4 look good and they are planning a day 5 transfer on Thursday, August 29th. However, we are considering freezing all four and moving forward with another IVF cycle to create as many frozen embryos as possible. This is where we need advice/guidance/things to consider. Our concern is that with only 4 embryos, it is not enough for future children and our goal right now is to "freeze time". If I were to become pregnant now without assurance of frozen embryos for later, I'm afraid we would miss our window to add down the road - I would be 38 before we could try again considering the time for pregnancy and breastfeeding (until a least 16 mos).
Here is our story:
We completed 3 IVF cycles in 2010 (2 miscarriages from these cycles). For all three, we retrieved only 3 eggs and the following results: 1st - 1 embryo, neg; 2nd - 3 embryos, pos but low beta, never saw sac; 3rd - 2 embryos, pos, never saw sac. We then did a donor egg cycle with a proven donor in 2011 - this cycle was also unsuccessful. We were told she had poor egg quality, which we knew wasn't true since she had done several donor cycles before with Dr. Smotrich who confirmed she was an excellent donor. So we decided to switch RE's , and in the midst of changing RE's, we conceived naturally and now have a 17-month old daughter; very easy pregnancy/delivery.
We are ready to expand our family and with purposes of "freezing time" for future children (ideally we want 4 total) started working with a new RE with a primary goal of freezing embryos and a secondary goal of achieving pregnancy. We definitely had a much better cycle this week, however, since only 4 eggs fertilized, and since our goal is to continue to add to our family (not just one more pregnancy) we are not sure if we should move forward with the transfer this week, or if we should freeze and do another retrieval. We're aware that frozen embryo transfers do not lead to as many successful pregnancies as fresh, which is why we are so torn at this time.
We would appreciate any guidance you could provide.
Thank you in advance!
Dr. Wisot
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Re: Should we do D5 transfer, or freeze and do another IVF?

Post by Dr. Wisot »

Actually if your center is freezing by vitrification the results of frozen cycles may be batter than in fresh stimulated cycles. Some centers are expanding their frozen cycles because of that observation.

Part of the reason the frozen cycles got a bad rap is that the best embryos were always transferred in the fresh and the secondary and worse embryos were transferred frozen.

From what you write your priority is to freeze. But you should rely on your own doctor's advice on the benefits and risks of freezing the embryos you created this cycle remembering that creating a healthy pregnancy is really your top priority.

Arthur L. Wisot, M. D.
Reproductive Partners Medical Group, Inc.
Redondo Beach, California
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