Hi,
I spoke to the embryologist today and my one frozen blastocyst is a grade c.
Is this really cr*p?
It’s the only one I have from my cycle and I’ve just gone through two blighted ovum’s in one go.
Any experience - negative or not greatly appreciated I want a realistic expectation.
X
Lots of places are using what they historically would have deemed "lower quality" and having great results. There is just so much unknown. If I was you I would go for it. Nothing ventured and all that xx
I don't think the grading matters. My grade 5AB didn't give me a bfp but my 5BC did (and funny enough that split and is giving me twins!) I think the grading is only up to the point before the embie gets frozen. How it develops later on is not something that can be predicted by the embryologist. Try not to worry too much x
Hi AJJ123, we have 7 blastocysts on ice and 3 of them are BC grade. The consultant advised that the chance of them implanting is 20% and the chance of live birth even lower. Sorry if it sounds negative but for me it was a very important information. Of course you can still transfer it as a live birth is possible from a lower grade embryos. Good luck x
Thank you it’s good to know xx
I remember that a medical director in one of the clinics we visited was telling a story about really crappy embryo (it must have been much worse than C) and he said that if this embryo becomes a baby he will stop being an embryologist. And the crappy embryo has become a baby and he changed his job to a medical director 😁 So despite statistics, everyone is different and it’s important to remember it. A good test is to see if the embryo survives thawing process. If it does, then it means it is strong. Good luck xx
My embryologist told me that the grade is just a guideline. They only freeze the ones that are strong enough for the freezing process so you know that they are strong no matter what the letters say x
That’s reassuring they told me that a b grade can be worse than c which is confusing xx
Honestly all the clinics use different grades. The letters are less important than the fact that it was strong enough to freeze x
Fingers crossed it makes it through the thaw x
If it’s good enough to freeze then it’s not that bad xx
Hope so xx
If they are freezing then it’s good enough. Lots of ladies have top grades transferred then nothing. They have the lower grade transferred and it works! Xxx
That’s what the embryologist said, they’ve transferred d grades and had success and a grades with none it’s a combo with the environment x
“Really crap” embies don’t get frozen. A lady on here not long back posted the birth announcement of her baby girl from a grade 3cc embie. You still have a good chance xx
At my follow up the other day, my consultant said the grade success really varies. She said they’ve had some ‘beautiful’ and ‘perfect’ looking embryos transferred which have failed but some ‘ugly’ ones which have been successful and created beautiful babies. I know it’s difficult to not get hung up on grading (we all do it) but as the others have said above, they don’t freeze anything unless it’s of good quality xx
Honestly, this clinic I read about in USA is getting similar results overall to clinics who only use "the best". They simply don't know enough about everything. One day they will use completely different ways of grading than is used today. Who knows..
But I would definitely not lose hope from the grading you have been told. Especially as what everyone has said, if it's good enough to freeze it's good enough to transfer.
Good luck xx
Thank you I just hope it works out next time xx
I’ve had 2 transfers, one 5AB and the other 4AB, neither of which were successful. I don’t think the grades particularly matter for transfer, it’s just a quality score for freezing, and whether they will survive that process.
I am currently feeding my frozen grade c embryo!!! He clearly took no notice of his grading by the embriologist. Certainly not something to get hung up about. Good luck. Xx
Thank you, it will be my last go and I was worried it could end up in vain.
I don’t want to go through it all again - it’s not as easy as it sounds when you hear about celebs doing it. You never hear about blighted ovum’s or bfn’s.
Xx
I know they all seem to breeze through it, but I imagine that is just the picture they paint to the outside world like we all do. Are they doing anything else for this fet? I had 3 mmc prior and lost a twin so whilst different I understand the needing it to work. This was my first fet and I think that alone helped as was much kinder on body. They also added aspirin to already clexene and prednisolone. Basically I felt the protocol was better suited to me and the grade of the embryo was not really a factor for me.xx
They haven’t suggested anything yet just given me the option of a natural or a medicated FET. If my periods regulate after this mc I will do a natural. I’ve bought ovulation sticks to test it out over the next three months. I still have a load of estrogen and progesterone tablets so at least I won’t need to worry about buying any when it comes to it xx
My 1 yr old daughter was a blastocyst 5bc.
Thanks, what’s bc? X
That was the grading given by the embryologist at that time and she wasn't even sure about freezing her. The b corresponds to the inner cell while the c corresponds to the outer layer of the embryo. She was frozen for 2 years and she was my last embryo left. My first embryo was day 3 grade AA but i MC after only 5 weeks of pregnancy
Our NHS embryologist told us not to get too hung up on gradings and they really dont know which embryos will give good outcomes but I know it tough to ignore. Its an educated guess really that the ones that look the most flawless will do best but he said he's seen some really poor ones that havent even made gradings on the scale make a baby so you're still in with a chance! As Hidden said, in the USA they have seen some amazing results from embryos they thought were poor.xx
I suppose it’s worth a shot. I just thought all that money spent on one blast which could end up not making it through the thaw or, not making it after transfer, or ending up in mc. I have read that mc is far less likely with frozen embies - I guess if it makes it through the thaw it’ll be worthy xx
Hie AJJ123 at my clinic if the embryo survives freezing and thaw process it`s good enough to be transferred. They do not even tell you the grade as the poorest looking may come out to be the best. I also have one frozen embryo that i am preparing to transfer last week of November 2018.
Cheer up and be thankful you actually have one.
Good luck xxx 
Hi there, I had a 5cc blast transferred and im currently 28 weeks pregnant. My previous 2 transfers were with better graded blastocyst one 5aa and one 5bb, they didn't work out. 🤗
I had 2 CB blastos transferred, and I'm now 9 weeks pregnant (we 90% think with just the one, but you never know at that early stage if twins are hiding behind one another...!). Heartbeat is strong, so here's hoping all will be ok for the magic 12 week scan!
I know how you feel, I almost wish the clinic didn't tell me the grading as you get so hung up on it, we were so worried that they were too poor quality (esp as we didn't get any frosties). Hang in there, and try your best to eat as best you can and plenty of sleep/being kind to yourself. xxxx Lots of luck and love!
Thank you I will start taking care of myself again xx
One of our consultants told me once not to get too bogged down with embryo grading as a “poorer” quality embryo can still lead to a healthy pregnancy. I’m not sure what grade C is, I never really got the hang of all of that but if it has reached blastocyst that’s good in itself xx
Grade 1 embryo 🎉
Hoping to hear Success stories for C grade day 5 Blastocysts…?
5 Day Blasto on Board!
Day 6 Grade C embryo success stories?
5-4-3-2-1 blasto! 
