Embryo batching?

[Loulaki]

Hi all,

We are going to do ICSI due to MF but I have also low AMH for my age (turning 36 in a couple of months). We have been accepted for the multicycle Access Fertility programme but this does not allow for embryo batching where we could do back-to-back egg collections.

Who has done back-to-back egg collections? Under what circumstances would this be preferred vs the normal process of egg collection and fresh/frozen transfer?

I was thinking that might be a good idea to consider this due to my low AMH but our dr did not mention it proactively when he explained the protocol he was recommending to us.

I am waiting to hear back from our dr on this point but thought I would get some input from this group too in case anyone has had the same questions or relevant experience to share.

We are lucky to be in a position to afford to do separate self-funded ICSI cycles. It would be somewhat of a stretch financially but not a big issue so going with Access Fertility was a help but if doing back to back egg collections was going to provide better outcomes we would go with that.

Hiya mine was female factor so batching was our preferred option to transferring after each stimulation cycle, to give us more opportunities when we moved to the transfer stage and if we were super fortunate opportunities for siblings later down the line. It took us 2 years and 10 cycles to get 4 embryos which was our target before transfer. (Only 3 cycles got to egg collection phase). I had low AMH low AFC, high FSH and premature ovulation risk, so hormones very much all over the place.

I think for us it was time factor, I was 38 when we started and we wanted to try and batch at least 4. Whereas if we went straight to transfer there was potential for longer gaps between cycles based on the protocols (I would have had to do frozen transfer rather than fresh because of hormones).

I hope that helps, I usually got 1 embryo per successful cycle so batching made sense to us, as when it comes to access my recollection is any remaining embryos are frozen and transferred before you move onto the next cycle (hope I remember that correctly) so it depends on how you respond in tour first cycle.

The one thing I learnt from ivf and the forums is every person's journey is so different and you will know what the right thing is for you once you have all the information available. I wish you all the best ❤️

thank you @SPR40 ! That is really helpful to know, you are so right it is such a personal journey. The more I think about it the more I feel like multiple egg collections one after the other might be the better option for us but will wait to hear what the dr says too.

Yes, you are correct re access fertility. We would need to use all embryos from the one cycle before moving on to the next. I assume I will not have a great response to my first cycle so in the end it may not matter that much and the delay may be minimal before we get on to the second one. Thank you for taking the time to respond :)

You are welcome. Ask the doctor about the wait time if the transfer is unsuccessful, at my clinic it was a 2 month wait whereas with stims I could do 2 stims back to back then 1 rest month. We also decided to take a 3 month break when we had multiple unsuccessful stim cycles, we travelled and enjoyed a few months off, it was needed. 🥰

I hope you get all the answers you need and I hope that your cycles are successful no matter which way you decide to go. Sending you all the positivity ✨️

@SPR40 i read your story and thought wow you are amazing to go through that many cycles before a transfer. An incredible amount of patience. I wish you all the best for your 4 little embryos and you get the baby you so deserve xx

@Loulaki
Hi - we opted fot batching as I had low amh, low afc, endometriosis and adenomysosis. I did a 3 cycle package at age 36 with AMH of 6 and AFC of 8.
I had previously done an NHS round which resulted in an egg collection of 1 follicle and no egg inside.

Of my 3 cycles my results were:
Cycle 1- 6 eggs which ended in 1 day 3 embryo and 1 day 5 blast frozen
Cycle 2 - 4 eggs with 1 day 3 embryo frozen
Cycle 3 - 2 eggs with 1 day 3 transfered fresh and 1 day 5 blast frozen.

My little ivf miracle is now 4 weeks and that is from my fresh transfer from Cycle 3.

I wss only given a 10% chance of success as I had been a poor responder to the drugs but thankfully it worked and I have 4 frozen in the bank. With low amh, you won't get huge numbers but ultimately its the quality that matters the most I think.

I am glad I did it that way even though it was incredibly difficult. I did 2 cycles back to back and had a break before the 3rd one but I had to dedicate all my time to it. I started in May last year and got my positive test in August and my baby was born in April.

Wishing you lots of luck xxxx

Thanks @Scarlett868 and congratulations on your little one! May I ask if this is something you opted for or did the dr recommend it?

Also thank you @SPR40 I will ask our dr about the clinic's wait time. That is a good point!

@Loulaki I think from what we had read before hand it seemed batching would be best for us and if I remember correctly we were advised by the clinic too to go for the batching xxx

Thank you @Scarlett868 :) really appreciate the input as it is such a complicated thing in many ways!

I did embryo batching for two main reasons - firstly, I was not getting any younger and I was conscious that if I was successful it would be another 18 months before I would realistically go again (I’ve always wanted two) and so it seemed sensible to have them in the freezer from when I was younger. Secondly, I had a few miscarriages first and so decided to do genetic testing, and so batched them for that.