6 day Blastocysts - is that normal and what are the chances of success?

[Lillilly]

Hi all, our DE treatment has resumed and our donor had 16 eggs, 10 of which were mature and 5 fertilised. Today is day 5 and only one blastocyst has started hatching. It’s been put on ice and biopsied. Two more blastocysts are early day 5 stage and not hatching yet and the clinic is going to leave them in the incubator and check again tomorrow. (Last time we were at this stage the embies deteriorated on day 6). The final 2 are expanded blastocysts that are not hatching and not of good quality but they’ve gone back in for another day as well.

I don’t actually know what expanded blastocyst means, though I know quality doesn’t necessarily mean bad outcome. Also, is it normal for blastocysts to go on to day 6 or even 7? I read somewhere once that female blastocysts take longer to develop and hatch.

I’d appreciate any feedback or advice on what to expect as this is the 2nd donor we are using. The last donor didn’t respond to the drugs and we didn’t get any embryos.

[Cinderella5]

Hey, sorry you're having such a stressful time! As far as I know from my own research there isnt much difference between a 6 day blast and a 5 day blastocyst in term of success rates. I think the 7 day ones are a bit lower but I see that you are having biopsies done which I presume is for PGT or similar so that will be the telling point. Oh and a blastocyst doesnt have to be hatching, they are usually graded from 6 to 1 A,B,C (6 being hatched and working down the way and A being the best grade) Sending you loads of luck!xx

[Lillilly in reply to Cinderella5]

Thank you. That’s really helpful info. I wasn’t sure how normal it is to have a clinic go to day 6 or even 7. I guess if the egg collection was at mid day then it makes sense that the 2 blasts are at early day 5 stage. I read somewhere that roughly 50% of PGS tested blasts come back within normal range. I really hope the 2 lower quality blasts rally as well. It’s all so nerve wracking. Having this forum is so helpful. I’ve tried to find local groups of parents who’ve conceived via donor but it doesn’t seem to be a thing.

[Cinderella5 in reply to Lillilly]

No problem, happy to help if I can. Its so stressful going through this with nobody around that understands what its like. There's actually a few ladies on here using DE including myself so reach out if you need us! Keeping my fingers crossed for you!!xx

[DianeArnold Partner Nurse Fertility Network UK]

Hi Lillilly. Just wanted to wish you all the best with your little embryo. Just needs that bit of extra time. Thinking of you. Diane

[KiboXX]

Hi Lilly,

Just wanted to give you some reassurance 😊 I had exactly the same day 5 phonecall as you on my last round, one was hatching and then another two were lagging behind. The following day we got an update to say both had caught up and were good enough for biopsy and freezing so don’t worry, they might just need a bit more time ♥️

Also all three of those blasts came back PGS normal so being slow doesn’t mean they aren’t good xx

[MrsC1509]

Hi Lillilly, we had a 6 day embryo transferred back in March and are currently 16weeks pregnant. I was concerned at the time as our clinic had said they normally let the embryos go to day 3 or day 5 before freezing. Our embryologist reassured us that if the embryo is strong enough there is no harm in them being allowed to go to day 6, the clinic have more chance to observe their development and decide if they will make it. I wish you all the luck in the world for your treatment, it only takes one good embryo at the right time for your dreams to come true. Xx

[Up2theuniverse]

I’m 7 weeks pregnant with a day 6 pgd normal blastocyst.

3 out of 3 day 6 blastocysts were all pgd normal and frozen.

My lab won’t go to day 7

[Countrychic]

Hey, it is all such a minefield isn’t it! We transferred a top quality 5 day blastocyst in November 2019 and the round was unsuccessful. We had a frozen 6 day blastocyst (Also good quality)!which we transferred in March and I am now almost 14 weeks pregnant. I honestly think it is all down to luck and al factors lining up. Our embryo we were successful with wasn’t hatching, I think if it was, it would have been considered to be 5AA rather that 4AA.

I have friends who have had success twice with 3 day transfers and not the best quality. It is really hard to know what will work and what won’t.

Best of luck xxx

[Tacos44]

Hi, in all 3 of my Ivf rounds my doctor had the eggs watched through day 7, because some were/could have been slow to reach the blastacist stage.💕