You'll see from my last post that I'm due to undergo a frozen embryo transfer soon, but there is something that has been bugging me....
We have 4 snow babies - will the clinic ask me how many we want to thaw? (That's what I've heard)...or will they just do the strongest one and hope for the best? If that didn't turn out as BFP then we would have to wait for the following month and do the next one..??
The policy at our clinic is only to put 1 embryo back in you see, so I'm thinking if we said thaw them all and they were all good quality (and survived) then what would happen to the 3 left?
Hope this makes sense?
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Crocodile80
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Our clinic has a one at a time policy at transfer on rounds one and two. Yesterday (my first fet but second round) we had one transferred. It is a "thaw the best one process" and take it from there. If it had perished then they would move to the next one..
My notes said call lab at 12. I did. Reception said no one was picking up in the lab. I was already nervous as hell for everything. Reception said she'd get someone to call me back asap. Bearing in mind transfer was booked at 2pm and it takes us at least 1.5hrs minimum travel time. Hadn't heard anything by 12:35pm so I rang back. This time I was put straight through to the lab. Spoke to a very nice lady. She said no one passed on that I'd called 😡 Anyway embryo survived thaw and was looking really good... We managed to get to the clinic on time as traffic was kind to us!
While I couldn't get hold of anyone and no one got back to me all kinds of terrible things went through my head, I truly thought we'd lost all 4 of our embryos and no one wanted to tell us! Talk about added stress! I was in tears. Thankfully it all worked out ok and I was much calmer when we got to the clinic 😊
Sorry for the essay. I just want you to be prepared that these things can happen but not to automatically think the worst like I did. Wishing you much luck 🍀 ❄️ x
Thanks for the reply. I've come on my period today - just called the clinic and they're calling me back by the end of the day.
I always find it daunting and stressful waiting for a phone call - and for you waiting on your embie must have been a very anxious wait. I'm glad all went well in the end for you.
hi I have 5 frozen embryo's and due to start FET next month. My doctor has advised to only thaw the number you want transferred as once you thaw them, you cannot freeze them again. My doctor has advised that if the 1st thaw doesn't work, they will thaw another one, it doesn't take that long, only 1.5 hrs the most. Good luck x
Thanks, I'd love to transfer more than 1, but I do think its policy for 1 only - I guess they'll thaw the best quality one and go from there...thats good that its only 1.5 hours to thaw.
Hiya this might have already been answered by other people but I asked this question re my consultant as we will also move towards FET going forward.
I am not sure what age you are but if you are into your 40s we were advised to just have one transferred. The main reason for this is the risk of preeclampsia is a lot higher the older you are and the more you put back the higher the risk if you have multiple pregnancies.
I also asked about the thawing process. The consultant told me that within 20 minutes they will know if the embryo is viable or not. If not then they can rethaw another one. You will not miss your cycle.
We have 5 day blastocytes. If you have 3 day blastocytes then the clinic may grow all of them on to 5 days and then freeze again.
I asked about the impact of freezing and thawing and the consultant said none. If they are going to make it they will make it.
Funny, my experience was quite different from DC13's - I was told they would only put more than 1 in if you were in 40s - as he chances are lower of success so they don't mind taking the risk of two babies making it - so I had two put in and so far one of them is still with me at 17 weeks.
I also asked about freezing thawing re-freezing and was advised that they don't like to do that therefore they only thaw the number you are planning to have transferred so for example 1, at a time. I was also told it was something like a 95 or 98% chance that they would thaw successfully so actually that part of the process seemed less stressful than many other parts. Good luck whatever you do and try (impossible I know) not to stress toooo much. Xx
We were told 80/90% success rate with thaw. I wouldn't have thought the worst if someone had A, got back to me and B they'd said 95/98%. I'm sure I read on here that one lady had to thaw 3 out of her 4 to get one 😮😢
Hope you and your pregnancy are doing well by the way sipidania 😊 x
I had four frozen blastocysts too. I'm 38. As we elected to have two put back they only defrosted two. They only defrost what they need until they successfully reach the number you have agreed to have transferred. These days it's very likely that the thaw will be completely fine - mine actually defrosted into a better grade than before they were frozen! The clinic also gave me photos of them just after the thaw, which I treasure. One of those blastocysts is now a 17 + 4 baby boy and all being well I look forward to showing him what he looked like when he was a blastocyst!
Good luck; it's so nerve wracking and it's impossible to know what to do for the best. My clinic wanted me to do 2 and I just went along with their advice. I don't think there is a 'right' answer. Xx
Hi, not to go against what everyone else has said but my experience has been different so it must differ dependent on hospital/ clinic policy. I have 10 frozen embryos at the first stage as fresh transfer had to be cancelled due to risk of ohss. My hospital in Manchester has a policy to thaw out twice as many as will be put back in, so to get one to transfer, thaw 2, to get 2 to transfer, thaw 4 and so on. I could've done against this if me n DH decided but we went with their recommended policy as they think it's best to ensure the best embryo is transferred. The remaining embryo will be discarded which we feel a bit sad and strange about, but we wanted to go with whatever the hospital think will have the best outcome. Just wanted to make you aware different places have different methods. I'd ask if I were you so you have time to think what you want to do if you do have the option of thawing more than one and also to prepare you. It might even be on your clinic's website if they have one as it was on mine. Hope I've not panicked you or anything, just wanted you to have all the facts. Wishing you the best of luck for your transfer when it comes around xx
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