Advice needed! PGS test VS double embryo transfer?

[Peanutchips]

Hi ladies,

I would really LOVE some advice, thoughts, shared experiences right now.

I’m due to start another egg collection in the next few weeks. We’ve been told if we want to PGS test the embryos, we need to let them know before starting stims.

Another option we’ve been given is to transfer 2 x untested embryos. We have only ever transferred 1 each time before, both frozen blasts (1 x BFN, 1 x MMC)

Prior to this we had 6 x rounds of clomid induction (inc 1 x IUI) - all BFN

I am 36 soon. Partner is 42.

I was always told I couldn’t transfer more than one blast until now but due to our history this has now been suggested.

I’m wondering whether to PGS test and transfer 1 or transfer 2 and hope for the best. Clinic advises not to transfer more than 1 PGS tested blast.

Advice would be amazing!! It’s so hard to know what the best decision to make is! Xxx

[fay2399]

The thing with transfer 2 same time is what if one of them is abnormal.. you aren’t old for that but is a possibility?! Good luck with any decision xxx

[Peanutchips in reply to fay2399]

Thanks for your reply Fay. I think my thought with transferring two is hoping for 1 baby and avoiding another negative or miscarriage (but would of course be over the moon with twins) 😊

[KiboXX]

I think you’ll probably get a lot of conflicting opinions on this one 🙈

I had three double embryo transfers (untested) and they all failed. One mc and two bfn.

My pgs single embryo transfer was my successful one.

It’s a really personal decision. As it was my fourth round, I wanted the best possible odds for any embryo I transferred as I couldn’t face another tww the way we had been going. I wanted answers and I was willing to put myself in a position where I might not have anything to transfer for it. I know other people want to give every embryo a chance and there is nothing wrong with that, it’s just not where I was at by this point.

Whatever decision you make will be the right one for you lovely ❤️ xxx

[Peanutchips in reply to KiboXX]

Thanks so much for your reply Kibo, esp with a lil newborn keeping you busy at the moment 😊

Aside from transferring a PGS normal embryo, was there anything different you did between that transfer and your other transfers?

Hope you and fam are doing well! 😘 xx

[KiboXX in reply to Peanutchips]

I changed from long protocol to short for this one, the only other change was changing clinics. I really do think the better lab and embryologist made the difference for us too xx

Ps. Thank you, she’s bloody amazing 😍

[Nat246]

Hi I haven’t been in this situation personally but I believe the PGS testing is expensive..... if so I imagine that needs factoring into your decision. What kind of blastocyst numbers have you had before? If a high number, testing seems like a good idea. If a low number, perhaps just transferring would be better as you don’t have others to use. Best of luck to you!

[Peanutchips in reply to Nat246]

Hi Nat, thanks so much for your response. Yes, it’s expensive. My clinic charges £500 per embryo to test. We had 5 last time, so could be similar numbers and so it’s expensive. I want to avoid a BFN but mostly I want to avoid another MC and of course have a healthy baby! 😊 It’s so hard to know what to do! Thanks for your reply xx

[Nat246 in reply to Peanutchips]

Yeah very hard to know what to do. You want to do everything possible to get a good outcome, no matter that it takes! If it’s playing on your mind, sounds like you might regret it if you didn’t go for the PGS testing x

[Peanutchips in reply to Nat246]

Thanks Nat, I appreciate your response xx

[FrancyItaly]

I would do both things, have them tested and 2 transferred if they agree.

[Peanutchips in reply to FrancyItaly]

Thanks Francy. They’ve said they’d only transfer 1 PGS normal, which is understandable and the chance of twins would be very high xx

[FrancyItaly in reply to Peanutchips]

Oh really? It the chance of twins higher if you have PGS testing? In this case I would probably have them tested and transfer one.

[Peanutchips in reply to FrancyItaly]

Only in so much as the chance of a live birth is higher with a PGS normal so putting two in increases the chance of twins xx

[Mara84]

Hey! I had to make same decision a few months ago and although my single PGS tested embryo ended in chemical pregnancy, I do not regret it... my clinic also do not recommend transferring more than one PGS tested embryo. I think when you test the embryos at least you know they are ok and they are higher chance of pregnancy. Good luck 😘😘

[Peanutchips in reply to Mara84]

Thanks so much for your reply Mara. I'm so sorry your transfer ended in a chemical. How many did you send for testing if you don't mind me asking? xx

[Mara84 in reply to Peanutchips]

Thank you dear, it was a hard time but what can you do...

we sent11 for testing at the end, 6 of them day 5 and 5 day 6. I was happy with getting 5 PGS tested....

best of luck dear and if you don’t mind let me know what did you decide. Xx

[Peanutchips in reply to Mara84]

Will do! Yes, 5 sounds like a great number! Amazing that you got so many to send for testing. Best of luck with your next transfer xx

[feminist]

I would recommend going for PGS. It was the one that stuck for me and you will have a much higher chance of getting a BFY. It saves you more heartache. I think it’s totally worth the money. Best of luck xxxx

[Peanutchips in reply to feminist]

Congratulations Feminist, really pleased for you that it worked! xx

[Ranchu90]

You will have to take the best decision based on your history as opinions are so different. We had 2 chemicals in the past so we decided that next cycle we will do PGS testing. We been aware that we never produced more than 1 embryo per cycle 😬 but I still wanted to go ahead testing them. Fast forward our 4th cycle was a successful one and we produced 4 blastocyst with 3 embryos that are normal. We have 1 more embryo from cycle 3 but it is mosaic ( transferable though), chromosome 3 is affected but it is compatible to life.

In my opinion if you have 2 embryos on ice and decided already to do another egg collection then it will be wise to test them all together as next time you will have the best shot.

In regards to transferring 1 or 2 PGS tested embryos I will tell you what my clinic advised me. So they are basically saying that all depends of the embryos quality. We have 5AB, 5BB, 5BC (all normal) and 5AA (mosaic). The doctor told me they will never transfer a 5BC alone. I had the option to transfer now 5AB + 5BC, I called my embryologist for an advise and she told me to go ahead with one 5AB and if this will not work then next time we will transfer 2. The mosaic one 5AA will be the last option and we will need counseling before transferring.

Hope this make sense and will help you a little bit to take the final decision.

I wish you good luck 🤞♥️

[Peanutchips in reply to Ranchu90]

Thanks so much for all of this Ranchu, it's so helpful! I'm so pleased you've got so many PGS normals, that's great. Good luck transfering your 5AB! xx

[Ranchu90 in reply to Peanutchips]

Thank you so much! I am nervous, scared, happy and all the other emotions 😃😬🤧

Finger crossed for tomorrow 🤞

[Ivfgotadream]

I transferred 2 untested and am 22 weeks with twins. It’s been very stressful and worrying as I did do PGS on previous cycles and didn’t get any normal embryos and these were the first ones after that we decided not to test. We have paid extra for NIPT testing etc to help with the worry.

Twin pregnancy is VERY hard though and I’ve pretty much been on bed rest the last month but at least I can WFH

[Peanutchips in reply to Ivfgotadream]

Thanks so much for your reply ivfgotadream. I'm so happy for you that things are going well with your twin pregnancy (aside from the bedrest). It's so strange that your two cycles prior didn't yield you any normals. How many did you test? Do you think it was just bad luck? xx

[Jldurham73]

we did PGS testing and am so glad we did. Our best graded embryo ended up having an extra chromosome so had we not done the testing we would have ended up with an embryo that probably wouldn't survive. We did put one in that did fail however though so it obviously is not 100% that it will take either way. You also will have to freeze them to do the testing so you won't be able to do a fresh cycle which I have heard is better. Either way you go, good luck and I hope you end up with a little one!!!

[Peanutchips in reply to Jldurham73]

Thanks so much for your reply. I'm so sorry to hear about your recent BFN, I really hope you get better results next time xx

[Hidden]

Do you get a lot of embryos? I’ve been told PGS is only viable if you have plenty to test... I don’t so I’ve been told it’s not worth it and to just transfer as many as poss

A lot of people worry about multiple births but if it’s any help so far I’ve transferred 13 embryos and only every got a doomed singleton pregnancy and that was from a triple transfer x

[Peanutchips in reply to Hidden]

Thanks so much for your reply Daisy. I'm so sorry that you've been through so many transfers without some luck yet. Everything crossed for you for your next move xx

[Blue1978]

So many different opinions as expected I’m sure and ultimately you do what’s best for you. I’ve not tested my frozen embryos (I have 2 that reached blastocyst) it’s an expensive game as it is without the extras and with that in mine, I’m transferring 2 untested on Thursday, first and last go of ivf , 🤞🏻,,,,,,, I’ve heard many ladies say they transferred 2 and got a single pregnancy and also many who are carrying twins. My consultant said by transferring 2 does increase my chances by 8% So I’m going with that as my chances are only around 22% so every extra percent helps

It’s a personal decision but thought I’d share mine,,,, all the best on your journey lovely 😊💓💓

[Peanutchips in reply to Blue1978]

Thanks so much for your reply Blue! Good luck with your transfer on Thursday, lots of baby dust to you xx

[Lisichka]

Hi Peanutchips

It’s great to see that you’re progressing into another cycle! I’m excited for you.

I would PGS test given your previous experience and age is a factor too.

My first cycle we did not PGS test and I had 4 transfers that did not end well (miscarriage - genetic abnormality, 1 bfn and 2 x chemicals and the two chemicals were with 2 embryos ). That’s despite all of them being high embryo grades!

Then second cycle we PGS tested and it was interesting to see that there were a couple of abnormals that looked so good - top grades! I just like having the peace of mind, knowing that every time we do a transfer, we’re putting our best foot forward.

Good luck with your cycle whatever you decide to do, you’ve got this! xxx

[Peanutchips in reply to Lisichka]

Thanks so much for your lovely message. That's really interesting about the top grade embryos! How many of what you sent for testing came back as normal (if you don't mind me asking)? And congrats on your BFP! Yay! xxx

[Lisichka in reply to Peanutchips]

Thank you! I still can’t quite believe the bfp after everything we’ve been through!

So we had 15 embryos to test and 10 were normal and one was a low-grade mosaic. So I guess we were lucky to have quite a few normal ones. The scary thought is that if we didn’t test, the first FET would have been with the best-looking abnormal. I think by testing you’re saving yourself a lot of potential heartache.

My second round I had a different protocol to the first one so maybe that influenced the Egg quality and we also did ICSI which resulted in a higher number of fertilised eggs (19 out of 21).

[Peanutchips in reply to Lisichka]

Yes, that is scary to think of that! I'm so pleased you had such a successful cycle. All the best with your pregnancy xx

[Lisichka in reply to Peanutchips]

Thank you very much xxx

One other thing is that ask your clinic about their lab because this is just as (or maybe even more) important. What are their stats, who is the head of the lab and how advanced are they, how often do they perform testing and all that other stuff.

[Peanutchips in reply to Lisichka]

Ooooo yes, that's a good suggestion. Thanks! xx

[BBHH1]

Transfer 2 and don’t do PGS, many blastocyst that are “abnormal” can correct themselves and turn into a healthy baby. There is a new study on that. So PGS helps woman with good prognosis that you are not anymore after all the failures. Good lunck!

[Peanutchips in reply to BBHH1]

Thanks for your reply. If you have a link to any of these studies, that would be amazing. Thanks xx

[BBHH1 in reply to Peanutchips]

The best latest one was an abstract in a conference that got award. So I don’t have it, just read the comments. Sorry

[Zebedee1971]

I had pgs and wish I hadn't. Both my embryos came back abnormal so now I'm paranoid that all my eggs are bad. I wish I'd just put them back in and risked a chemical. When I spoke to my miscarriage specialist he said not to do it again. You don't learn anything. The way he phrased it was 'nature has many safety nets in place, if the embryos aren't meant to make it, they'll just miscarry early anyway.' research is mixed too. Not all abnormal embryos miscarry, some have gone on to implant and go to full term. It breaks my heart that I didn't give my two embryos a chance. Even now, three months on, I think to myself' what if?' In the end, they called me up to ask if I was OK with them being destroyed. But I honestly wish I'd just put them back in and given them a shot. Also, my ivf clinic only do pgs testing on certain days anyway, so I was due the egg collection on Monday but ended up having to push it to the Wednesday... Long story short, I was over stimulated, ended up having to take ohss pills which made me violently sick, and my fresh transfer was delayed to a frozen... Then got told they were duds anyway. If you do have pgs, check they aren't restricted to certain days otherwise the eggs might not be collected on the optimal day x

[Peanutchips in reply to Zebedee1971]

Thank you so much for your reply Zebedee, that's so helpful. I'm so sorry you didn't have a happy ending with that cycle, that must've been really tough. Wishing you all the best for your next attempt xxx

[BBHH1 in reply to Zebedee1971]

If you haven’t discarded the embryos you can get a second opinion with doctors at Center for Human Reproduction in NY. They believe in the potential of the abnormal embryos to turn into a healthy baby and have proved that recently in the conference I mentioned in another comment. That are willing to implant in some situations...

[Unicorn787]

I am spewing only from my own experience I would say transfer two and test the rest of you want. Waiting 3/4 weeks for a result is unbearable. But then again testing I think was a waste of time. I tested three embryos that were day 5/6 blastocysts and all came back normal. None of them implanted in three separate rounds of FET. Not a single one and knowing that the FET was done with a normal embryo made it so much harder to me as they say you have a 95% chance success rate after 3 transfers and we got none. I am 42 and have had 7 miscarriages but I have had a daughter and I fall pregnant quickly… 5 miscarriages in 18 months. So why I couldn’t fall on ivf with pgt embryos makes no sense to me or anyone else to be honest. If I ever had the privilege to do it again I would but I wouldn’t use pgt testing at all… there is no surety it works…