How many to transfer

[mikkyr]

Please help me. Due to transfer on Saturday. We should have at least 5 embryos available. Doctor says to transfer 2 but I really really really (I mean really!) don’t want twins.

Do we transfer 1 or go with drs advice?

I had 3 put back in uk. Tho I was just over 40

Op if you swf don’t want twins then one embryo put back and hope doesn’t split

Good luck

When was that @Blondeshavemorefun ? I am under 40 so it may have been different but all the legal docs we had to sign were 2 max and even then going on about the risks of multiple births. We were told the laws changed a few years ago because there were too many multiple ivf births so now they limit your numbers

www.hfea.gov.uk/treatments/explore-all-treatments/decisions-to-make-about-your-embryos/

Interesting this does say rarely they will do 3! Didn't even see an option for that on the form

If you look at the stats OP these are the states we were given. Having 2 transferred does not increase the chances of the transfer working (sorry on 2 photos, it was too long for 1)

When you are over 40 the multiple risk is offset by the failure risk. That’s why UK clinics allow 3 transfers - statistically even with 3 embryoes transferred at the same time a woman over 40 is more likely to have a failed transfer. That’s why multiple transfers are considered more effective. When the father is over 40 or has sperm quality / chromosomal issues the miscarriage risk tends to be higher too.

@praying - you are not looking at the data set for the over 40s. There is some evidence to suggest multiples work better in older women.

@Teddybear45 I did say they were the stats I was given being under 40.....

Hfea don't give stats for over 40s (or not easy to find) which is strange.

@praying Aug 2014

Plus was private ivf not nhs. Don’t k own if that makes any diff

@Blondeshavemorefun - no difference. It was in my paperwork on the NHS cycle too - triple transfer over 40, double from 38, and single otherwise. I was 37 and really annoyed because they refused to let me transfer both of my embryos (and neither were freezeable quality).

Isnt it crazy how we can justify things ... Ive only just turned 40 so Im hoping that I fall into the under 40 stats by virtue of the fact that my biological age HAS to be better than the average 40 year old...

1. I dont drink
2. I dont smoke
3. Im not overweight
4. I exercise regularly
5. I dont eat sugar or processed food at all
6. I have no fertility issues and have better egg reserves that am average 40 year old using my clinic according to my RE.

Have you been tested for immune / clotting / thyroid issues? Those things can come out of the woodwork after failed cycles because the tests tend to be offered after a failure.

@teddybear45. What happened to other embryo then. Just thrown away :(

That’s why we had all 3 put back. Couldn’t imagine just leaving to die

And prob rare to have 3 back and all 3 take

@teddybear45

Had a slightly underactive thyroid and have been on treatment for 6 months. Tested recently and all levels are in order.
All other tests have come back perfectly in order.

If I look at the stats for Donor Eggs - Donor Sperm - They are way higher for first time single embryo transfers so Im hoping that is the category that I would fall into given that neither husband nor I have any fertility issues that we know of.

But dont stress.... I am well prepared for the disappointment. Its just living in hope and giving me something to hold on to I suppose because the stats for 40 years having a SET are not in favour :(

Yep thrown away. So, so annoyed. Like Op I’m healthy and I have PCOS which means high egg reserve but my NHS cycle failed because the consultant was too conservative. The next cycle I managed to produce 5 top quality blastocyst embryos from 16 mature eggs; but it still took another 2 transfers for my BFP - and each one was 3 months apart so I felt a lot of time was wasted. It didn’t help that a friend of mine with similarly poor quality embryos did get a double transfer in another clinic (despite being younger than me) after she appealed; and it resulted in a pregnancy first cycle.

I will be 39 or 40 when I go for my next attempt (assuming this pregnancy results in a baby) and so will definitely be trying my best to maximise my chances of success. Thankfully my PCOS responds to Metformin and I have a high egg reserve but I will be doing the maximum transfers allowed. So far spent 30k on IVF.

@Teddybear45 that was your clinics own policy. I am 36 and was allowed to transfer 2 if I had wanted to

Nope praying - that’s NICE guidelines (SET for 37 and under doing their first and often second cycles too). And for an NHS cycle they are mandatory. My friend who was younger made an appeal to her Healthcare trust to have both transferred and it was only accepted on the grounds of her religious beliefs.

As I say.... that's their (in your case nhs) guidelines. I was with a private clinic and was allowed 2 if I wanted (although they only advised it if low grade embryos).

And if only the NHS abided to NICE guidelines consistently! Then it wouldn't be a postcode lottery whether you even GET IVF on the NHS 😡😡 (but that's another thread altogether). Because NICE only issue "guidelines" they can choose what they want to abide by 😡😡

I'm sure this is very rare but I was talking to someone who had triplets following a double transfer. They were advised to transfer two on the basis of two previous transfers that resulted in miscarriages, however both took and one split so now they have triplets made up of identical twins and a singleton. I can't imagine it's common but it does happen, the mother was late thirties but no fertility issues in that case.

Just as an update ... We transferred 1 against the REs advice.

We did our 2nd Beta today and BFP!

We are so lucky.

Wow. Congrats :)

Congratulations.