A small win! Also this is for anyone needing Assisted Oocyte Activation

[abcgirl]

UPDATE: at day 3, 7 of 12 are still going strong so will have a day 5 transfer. Oh I 🙏🙏🙏 we have a few left by day 5.

So a little background... we did IVF the first round(since we were unexplained and my husband semen analysis always came back with good numbers) and had zero fertilization on 8 mature eggs. The sperm was able to find the egg and bind to it but couldn’t fertilise. Next step would be ICSI but my clinic said that based on what they saw, even ICSI would likely fail. Failed fert with ICSI still happens about 1-2% of the time.

So they suggested using a calcium ionophore to activate the egg also known as Assisted Oocyte Activation. In the meantime, we contacted a researcher at Oxford who is studying PLCzeta which is a protein that the sperm have that is needed to activate the egg and kickstart fertilisation. My husband gave a sample plus blood and saliva to participate in this study and they tested for this protein. Turns out my husband has almost none meaning his sperm can’t fertilise eggs even if they are injected inside. It’s a super complex process and I’ve been reading through research papers since last October when our first round failed. It’s new-ish research and the solution using calcium is also fairly new.

Well we went into our 2nd round and things started bad as I started my meds early, and my clinic seemed to always be on the verge of screwing something up like giving me the wrong meds and I was constantly correcting them. I haven’t had a good feeling about anything this whole time.

I went into egg collection yesterday and out of 26 follicles, they got 18 eggs. I cried because for us this didn’t mean anything because I was so scared they wouldn’t fertilise.

15 were mature so they injected them and dipped them in a calcium solution for 15 min, washed them and put in incubation to wait and see if they could fertilise.

This morning was torture as we waited for the call. I couldn’t stop crying and since they said they’d call between 9-11 by the time it got to 10:30 we assumed it was bad news (since that’s how it all unfolded last time!)

Well finally we called and made sure they had the right phone number (they didn’t) and they called back to say 12 fertilised.

So this is a win for us. We are further than last cycle and now we have a chance to get to transfer. So if anyone finds themselves in a similar situation after failed fertilization with IVF or ICSi, please don’t hesitate to message me.

I know there are still many more hurdles and lots that can go wrong but have to take it step by step and this has renewed a little bit of hope in us that we’ve been struggling to find in the past few months.

Hope to see more good news here and hope things keep looking up for us. Now next step, let’s get to at least a day 3 transfer. 🙏🙏🙏

[kumkums]

Yippee. Thank God, you have good numbers going strong. I strongly believe they will all make it to day 5. As at day 3, 7 out of our 13 embryos were going strong and we had 7 to freeze.

Happy for you.

[abcgirl in reply to kumkums]

Oh I hope so! That would make me so happy. Thank you for the encouragement

[Orla9298]

Wow that is amazing! 🤞🏼🍀

[Ap98]

Excellent news!

Sending lots of good energy for the rest ofbyour journey!

[7AVA]

Wow, well done abcgirl for taking control and finding solutions yourself - you’re a pioneer and should feel very proud of your 12 embryos. I know (from experience) that it’s a long way to go yet and I’ve got everything crossed for you that one (or more!) of your 12 is successful for you. Xxx

[Scarlett13]

Well done on your effort and research, you go girl! And thanks for sharing your rare story that could help someone else that finds themselves in the same situation. Despite your shocking first round, at least now you know why you can't get pregnant and have found the amazing scientific solution- incredible how advanced ivf has become! I'm wishing you so much luck for this round and your great numbers xxx

[LegoBatgirl]

Thanks, I know it's a few months on but this gives me a lot of hope x

[Hidden]

Wow, what a journey but we'll done for finding out the reason. I really wish you all the best with your next stages. One step at a time remember xxx