Day 3 or Day 5 transfer - pros and cons??

[maz]

Hi girls

I've not been around much this cycle - what with it being our 4th go I don't think I'm a particularly good advocate for the successes of IVF/ICSI. However, I was wondering if I could ask you ladies your opinions ...

At egg collection this morning, I produced 14 eggs, and provided we get a reasonable fertilisation rate, we have the decision of whether to do a day 3 or a day 5 transfer. If we decide to go to day 5, I am aware that we may end up with nothing to transfer, however I have always maintained that I would prefer to know there and then, rather than go through 2 weeks of hell wondering what is going on. Now that we're here, and potentially facing that decision, I just don't know.

I was just wondering what all you ladies thought and what you would do given a choice. Do any of you know what are the advantages / disadvantages to doing one or other??

xx

 

[Springflower]

Hi Maz

I think the same as you, I would rather take a chance and go for a 5 day transfer and risk having nothing to put back in than the 3 day.

 

[Feebee]

Hey Maz

I agree with Springflower. Though the waiting and wondering and hoping and wishing between that phone call on the morning of Day 3 and going in for transfer on Day 5 dragged on forever the one time we experienced it.

It is a really difficult decision. Wishing you all the luck in the world xx

 

[Blue12]

Oh hun, I wish I had some advice. That is an incredibly difficult decision. xo My fs prefers day 3 - but I think that it because she is too scared to risk having nothing.xo

 

[rachelle1975]

Hey Maz,

Ahh pros and cons....

The only downside of going for a 5 day blast is the fact that you might end up with nothing to transfer. The downside of going for a 3 day transfer is that you might not have the best quality embies inside you.

You got a good amount of eggs and if you get a good fertilisation rate then there is no reason you can't go to blasts.

We had 6 embryos fertilised and at day 3 we have 5 grade A (1) embies and all were at the same stage. The Embryologists at The Lister said to push for blasts as the success rates were higher because you are selecting a strong embryo with more chance of survival - by transfer we had 2 leaders and were able to choose.

Wait and see what the fertilisation report says tomorrow and play it by ear - at Day 3 get them to call you and let you know how they are doing.

People actually pay to have their embies go to blast/hatching blasts so it's definitely a consideration if you have enough front runners and there is no clear winner x

 

[looknomore]

I have had a sequential transfer. I had 15 embies and a lot of them were good quality. So the doc transferred 3 grade As on day 3 and 2 grade A blasts on day 5. It still does not mean i will get a BFP but for whatever its worth I am happy with the treatment part. I have no frosties because of this but my doc did not want any cos she feels my endo is causing implantation probs. I guess this is a test for my endo.

Can u discuss this option with ur doc. Its a fairly new and experimentation approach but my doc has had success with this method with lots of women with multiple IVF failures.

Also in this cycle my doc is making me take Viagra as a pessary as it improves implantation and also immunosuppresants. Just wanted to share the details of the treatment with u as I know that u wud want to do things differently this time round.

All the best to you. Feel free to PM me in case u need any other info

 

[fluffystar]

Our clinic definitely favours day 5 blast transfer but they were one of the pioneers of blastocycst transfer so I guess they would! They said that they will judge what is best at the time and most likely to result in a BFP and depending on the number and the quality decide whether to do day 3 or day 5. We have been told that they always aim for day 5 though.

Hope that helps xx

 

[CurlySue]

I'd take the chance and go with the 5 day transfer. They say that if an embryo doesn't survive in the lab up until day 5 it was never going to survive so in a sense it'd be better than getting your hopes up. I don't know how to explain that so that it makes sense, really.

 

[maz]

I understand what you mean CS ... I'm thinking along those lines myself but I might not get a say in it so time will tell.

How are you?

 

[CurlySue]

I'm plodding along, Maz. To be honest, this FET on Saturday is just a formality before I f**k IVF off and go for adoption but the 'frosties' are there so I may as well use them.

If they were ANYWHERE but the dump that is our hospital I might have a bit of faith but alas, they are there. Unfortunate, really.

How is you? Feeling hopeful or a bit meh?

 

[MissMonty]

I keep reading conflicting information about this and I'm totally confused by it

I would go for 5 day transfer for the same reasons as the other ladies have stated, this time we had a 3 day transfer - out of the 18 eggs collected, 10 became embies but only 3 were still going strong on day 3 so we didn't have much choice.

I'm with Care fertility, we spoke to the medical director about 5 day transfer and she shrugged it off telling us that the uterus is the best place for our embies and just because some embies don't make it to day 5 in the lab doesn't mean they wouldn't have survived in the uterus. Not sure if she was fobbing us off or not To be honest I'm becoming more and more cynical as the days past, although Care have been really good to us, their nursing staff cannot do enough for us.

I think you should go with your heart - wishing you all the very best

 

[Nvr2Late]

My fs says something similar to yours, MissMonty. That the embies may develop better in their natural environment. Only challenge is picking which ones to transfer at that point. It's a bit of a guessing game. Then again, all of this is!

 

[brumbar]

see how it goes on day 3.... If all perfect and you can't choose and they think the chances of getting to day 5 are good... Then go for it! I had 11 embies my second go and all 11 were still kicking on day 3..... So we kind of had to go to blasto 8 were still developing on day 5, only 2 were blastos, the rest were slower. There's no rhyme or reason, the slow once could've done better in the womb, but they were never given a chance.... You just never know.....