D3 to D5 embryo report

Hi Carole,

I just finished my September cycle. 9 at ER, 6 fertilized, 6 grade 1 embies with 7-10 cells on D3....Today on my D5 I was told 2 were froze and 2 were being "watched" until tomorrow.

My last cycle in July (I'm banking) produced 4 blasts.

I'm just wondering if it's typical to lose grade 1 embryos like that? I'm also wondering if it's bad to let an embryo go until day 6--since it's needs to be biopsied still? I had the thought, that since my embryos will be testing anyway is it truly necessary to go until day 6?

Thx you in advance.

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Originally Posted by bbwywy

Hi Carole,

I just finished my September cycle. 9 at ER, 6 fertilized, 6 grade 1 embies with 7-10 cells on D3....Today on my D5 I was told 2 were froze and 2 were being "watched" until tomorrow.

My last cycle in July (I'm banking) produced 4 blasts.

I'm just wondering if it's typical to lose grade 1 embryos like that? I'm also wondering if it's bad to let an embryo go until day 6--since it's needs to be biopsied still? I had the thought, that since my embryos will be testing anyway is it truly necessary to go until day 6?

Thx you in advance.

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Hello bbwywy:
Yes, it is certainly possible that some embryos fail to progress and so are "lost". That is pretty normal actually. We recruit way more eggs in an IVF cycle than what nature normally provides- it is rare that all these "extra" eggs are just as good as 1-2 would be. You'll have to ask your lab what they are "watching" for. Some labs are not technically capable of biopsying embryos that are not already half hanging out of their shell. This is why some labs use hatching as a test for biopsy. Each lab has their own policies so really you need to go back and ask if you want to understand their treatment plan for you. We biopsied everything that got to blast. We lasered a hole in the shell and pulled a few cells out. This allowed us to biopsy the majority of embryos- which we felt was the best for the patient. I can't say that we ever noticed that the unhatched ones at biopsy were any less likely to be genetically normal. Good Luck! Carole

Thank you for the info...I sincerely appreciate it!

Another question popped into my mind...since we are planning to do the one day turnaround with my embryos, was it optimal to let 2 of my embryos advance to D6?

I'm the one who has a frozen batch of 4 that still need to be biopsied--then do the one day turnaround. I'm beginning to wonder if just thawing, biopsy, then immediately re-freezing...then doing the transfer later would be better. Especially since vitrification was used.

I feel like I'm in a mess...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bbwywy

Another question popped into my mind...since we are planning to do the one day turnaround with my embryos, was it optimal to let 2 of my embryos advance to D6?

I'm the one who has a frozen batch of 4 that still need to be biopsied--then do the one day turnaround. I'm beginning to wonder if just thawing, biopsy, then immediately re-freezing...then doing the transfer later would be better. Especially since vitrification was used.

I feel like I'm in a mess...

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Hi bbwywy,
I am sorry you are having such a hard time. It would be best to ask these questions of your clinic. You want to minimize the time in culture after day 6, that is why they want to do the 24 hr turnaround- but they should be best able to address your concerns in light of their experience with patients like you in their clinic. Good Luck!! Carole