Number of embryos from day 1 til day 3

[Tiny Dancer]

Hi Carole,

I'm wondering if it's typical that a few embryos don't make it til day 3 that fertilized and appeared normal on day 1? If so is there a percentage of fallout? Last cycle I had 20 eggs retrieved, 17 mature, 15 fertilized, but only 11 made it to biopsy. This cycle my numbers are lining up very similar...18 retrieved, 15 mature, 13 fertilized. Just received the fert report today and hoping they will all make it to biopsy. I would appreciate your insight. TIA

[Carole]

Hi Tiny Dancer,
It is very typical to see a loss at every stage. Usually, not all eggs are fertilized, not all proceed to embryos and not all get to blastocyst stage, the final stage in culture. I wrote a post on this very topic at my blog which you might find helpful. http://fertilitylabinsider.com/2011/02/egg-count-mathematics-why-the-numbers-change-between-retrieval-and-transfer/
Best Wishes,
Carole

[Tiny Dancer]

Thanks Carole!