Total Fertilisation Failure

[Hopefulhedgehog1]

Looking for some hope please? Recently had egg collection on long protocol. 16 eggs collected - good sperm sample but IVF completely failed, no eggs fertilised after 24 hours. Next step will be to try ICSI but do I need to be realistic that the same thing may happen again? Has anyone gone on to try ICSI after total fertilisation failure with standard IVF?

Hi I had the same problem.. what did you do? they mentioned egg donation but would like to hear what you have done and how you processed this. Thank you!

Hi Lucy, we had a second round with ICSI and did get a bit further with some fertilisation but nothing made it to day 5. I am just about to start a 3rd cycle. They cannot give us any indication if sperm or eggs is the problem so we are a bit on what to do if this 3rd round doesn’t work. I have been looking at donor embryos but it seems very uncommon in the UK and I think we’d be reluctant to use donor from abroad. What this your first round?

Yes, this was our first round. Apparently our problem is low egg quality… I just think it will be impossible for me to have my genetic child and these days have been so difficult. We will try again after summer and see how it goes but if it doesn’t work we will give another try and then switch to egg donation. Although it is hard to accept, I would prefer to have a kid with not my DNA rather than having no kids… this cycle was devastating. I feel I have no purpose in life anymore and trying to get pieces together. I hope you all the best on your third cycle!!!!!!! Please keep me updated!

I’ve just had similar happen. My 4th egg collection was Thursday, I got 4 eggs and all have fertilised abnormally. I’m completely devastated. I feel like my eggs are totally knackered now. I’ve never had anything to freeze either so the cost is now spiralling out of control. I have one more cycle paid for but I don’t know if I can stomach another £3.5k on medication 😭

@SquashPenguin i am very sorry to hear that - I know how you feel and unfortunately don’t have a solution at hand. We are self funding every single IVF try we do and it’s becoming super expensive. It’s 2 years and we are already at 10k with no results whatsoever. It will be another 20k minimum but I have to give myself a limit and a deadline. I will try 2 times more in October and December but then I will go for donation if this is the result of the other 2. have you looked into donation?

@LucyFab We’ve spent about £23k now, it’s literally breaking me. I’m terrified of remortgaging next year, that could be the deciding factor in stopping. I’ve looked at donation, one day I’ll be totally fine with the idea and feel really positive but the next I feel so sad about it. I just can’t get over how I was dealt this shitty hand. I want to be one of those women whinging on MN that they can’t decide where to take the kids on holiday, not filling up sharps boxes like there’s no tomorrow. It’s just so fucking unfair. I want to just go to bed and never wake up 😭

@SquashPenguin i totally understand you. I would suggest you start accepting egg donation - I know it’s hard and I am also very conflicted about it but I don’t want to become a frustrated and depressed person (more than I already am) for this. If I can be happy and hold my baby in my arms with a donor I would do it and stop the suffering. Also, We had consultation today and unfortunately for me it’s likely a genetic mutation which does not allow fertilisation . While we will do another round just to confirm the diagnosis, I have to accept that I will have to go thought egg donation to have my kid. did they do any genetic testing with you? I had to push them a lot to get results as to why I had this result from this cycle. I am 30 with AMH of 14 so they were not expecting this result at all - and what is even better they have never seen this in 40 years! I was the lucky one to get this mutation lol.

Hello. This happened to us - we had 14 eggs and not a single one fertilised, I was devastated! We have MFI and the clinic suggested donor sperm.
We moved clinics and did a fresh sperm retrieval, and added AOA. We then got 4 good quality blastocysts, ones sat next to me as I type! So don’t give up hope, it was a huge shock but it doesn’t mean the end of your journey. X

Hello, we're in the same situation here. Our first IVF cycle ended this weekend with zero fertilizations. The embryologist said both eggs and sperm appeared normal, however we had very poor bonding between them and we should try ICSI for our next cycle. It is made worse by the fact that I responded much worse than expected, out of a total of 19 AFC, 8 follicles formed and only 4 mature eggs total. Disheartening to say the least.

We have to wait until next week for our follow up to see what else can be done, but it is all so deflating... I just turned 39, so we have to be very conscious with how we choose to move forward for these next cycles.

@Hopefulhedgehog1 how did your 3rd cycle in June go? Any advice for someone at the start of TFF? X

Hi @tippycanoe really sorry to hear this. I'm 37, soon to turn 38 and had a failed NHS IVF cycle earlier this year, 4 eggs, 2 mature, failed fertilisation. One did not fertilisation at all and the other abnormally fertilised due to two sperm entering. So advised ICSI next time round.

Anyway the point is there is still hope. I'm about to now start natural modified IVF, which got delayed as I got pregnant naturally just before starting, but it ended up in a chemical pregnancy ending at 4+4. Just wanted to share that, as failed IVF fertilisation is not necessarily conclusive of no fertilisation moving forward.

@Sunflower360 hope it all goes well for you. My first cycle was exactly the same as yours. We've switched clinics from UK to overseas simply for the different aspects of IVF treatment they are offering, surprisingly the cost has been extremely low. If you haven't don't a Sperm Defragmentation and karyotype tests you could look at these before the next cycle due to the issues of binding. We paid a third of the price for defrag, both our karyotype, bloods, scans, consultation, flights and hotel than it would have cost in the UK. The cost was a welcome surprise considering we have spent so much in the UK.

Thanks @Rosequartzz had a karyotype which came back all clear thankfully. Not had a dna fragmentation test as yet, but perhaps will do

@Sunflower360 Thank you, a very good reminder. Now we're a few days out from the shock of it, it's a bit easier to keep it all in perspective. We won't have our follow up appointment until next week, not sure if they'll be able to pinpoint the reason for the total lack of fertilisation, egg quality, sperm etc...The embryologist did say that this failed bonding was likely why we've never conceived in the past, so at least isn't unexplained any longer.

Wishing you well with your upcoming cycle. A very hopeful sign that you were able to get pregnant in the spring, and will be sending you the best in the meantime.

@tippycanoe - low bonding can be caused by mutation on the ZP genes. I have studied a lot and found out that mutations or variations on ZP genes can cause total fertilisation failures. I did genetic testing on these genes and turned out I was right I have a mutation of ZP genes which impedes fertilisation. It is rare but I think a lot of people don’t know about this and clinics don’t know either. my clinic for example didn’t know about this and they were surprised when they found out I was right about it

Hi Lucy fab, I recently had total failure of fertilized they said it poor bonding something got to do with the zona of the egg, I can't find much about it online, is this mutation something that develops over time? Or can be reversed?Because I had a easy natural pregnancy 5 years ago and have been ttc 3 years now! Thought ivf would be the answer but it has just showed up this bonding issue 💔

Hi @Cloclo93 i am very sorry to hear that and I know how frustrating that is. We also thought that IVF was going to be the answer but it wasn’t! I have studied a lot on this and talked to several specialists, my understanding is that this is a mutation that is in the DNA since birth, but they told us that every mutation is different, some more serious than others, so maybe in your first pregnancy you got lucky and got a good egg - it is just a probability thing. In any case I would recommend doing a genetic testing so that you have your answers. It is quite expensive (I paid £1600 because it is a very rare test that only few labs in the U.K. can do) but it will tell you where you have any ZP mutation or not. In particular you need to test ZP1, ZP2, ZP3 and ZP4. Let me know if you need more info and can share in private including the articles I read about this! Good luck!

Hey all,

I'm so sorry to hear about everything you've gone through.

So during my first round of IVF we had ICSI on the day due to a low sperm count that day. - I had 4 eggs collected, and none fertilised.

During my second round of ICSI - we had oocyte assisted calcium activation. I had 12 follicles, 8 eggs, and 5 that fertilised. Unfortunately the fresh transfer failed. But my frozen transfer was successful, and I'm currently at 10 weeks.

I'm not sure if this possibly something they could try?

I hope this helps 💕

Do you know if this is something that develops over time? I actually had a miscarriage before my pregnancy but I didn't know I was pregnant till 9 weeks so probably my own fault I lost it. Is ICIS a way to overcome this? Have you had failed icis cycles? Ireland doesn't do genetic testing unfortunately;(

Thanks warrier87 that is very hopeful, congratulations on your pregnancy! ❤️ did they say why your 1st cycle failed to fertilized?

@Cloclo93

Hi! Aww thanks! It's crazy and absolute shock that any fertilised especially after the first outcome.

So they don't know why it wasn't successful. And kind of emphasised that we would try the calcium activation. And my consultant kind of warned me it may or may not work. My embryologist though, sometimes they just need a "helping hand to turn on."

The only other difference I did. Was started taking procieve trying to conceive sachets.

I hope this helps! Do have a ready about it online, plenty of journal articles with data about it.

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