Hello all,
I had a follow up consultation yesterday after my third miscarriage (IVF). All 3 have been early miscarriages (the latest a chemical). Consultant said he doesn’t think it’s just bad luck (the embryos are grade A which were transferred), and recommended karyotype blood tests and testing the remaining embryos before transferring anymore. This can take several months and will cost 4K in total.
Just so soul destroying to be in this situation.
Anyone else had these tests done?
Thanks 😊
Hi, my reasons for having these tests done are different to yours but I had the karyotyping done in January on both myself and my husband. We are also having PGT-A testing done on embryos from any fresh cycles. The karyotyping took about 5.5 weeks to come back and the PGT-A testing about 2 weeks. It is an additional mass of anxiety to go through additional tests and I felt particularly worried about not having any embryos left after PGT-A testing. However when you have experienced significant loss, the testing can really help reduce potential losses and trauma in the future. Not sure if this helps, hopefully it does in some small way xx
Both of us, my DH and I, had the karotype tests done prior to IVF. It's a simple blood test. I also wanted to test my embryos but got only 1 embro out of 2 IVF cycles and it was not good enough to get tested. Not every embryo is suitable for testing. If your embryos can undergo the tests, then go for it. Especially if you have more than 2.
I’ve got 4? They’re frozen though so have to be thawed and then thawed again and I just worry about risks.
Hmm, yeah that's definitely something to consider. Usually they do these tests prior to freezing because it's too risky to defrost and freeze again. Not sure if you want to try double transfers instead. I would say get the karotype tests done first and if all looks good then maybe do double transfers, if you can mentally handle it. If those don't work out, then do embryo tests on following rounds, if you decide to keep going. In the end, you have to go with whatever you are most comfortable with riskwise.
So I’m going to be honest and here and say karyotyping is largely irrelevant if you also do PGTA - do one or the other - not both. Karyotyping only gives you an individual result - it can’t tell you about the embryos you and your husband make together. I would also only do it if your miscarriages had come back with chromosomal issues. But even then if something was identified in your karyotyping you’d have to PGTA anyway so I’d save the money.PGTA of frozen embryos is a risk. And in the U.K. you can transfer abnormal embryos so you could end up having to destroy all the ones you have left. Are you able to do another cycle? I’d be looking into doing another collection and test fresh embryos from that?
(Cautionary tale - I PGTA aged 36 and didn’t get any normal embryos - I’d had 4 miscarriages by that point. I decided not to test again but changed protocol to natural modified IVF and had twins from 2 untested embryos)
Karyotype tests and PGT-A are very different. Karyotype test is to look for specific genes that can cause issues, e.g. both have a ressessive gene that if both pass can cause issues for the embryo. PGT-A looks at chromosome issues (deletions/incorrect divisions) not genes. With that said, the order matters. You should do the Karyotype tests first, because if they find issues they'll ask you to do PGD, which focuses on specific genes of the embryo.
From what I can gather, consultant wouldn’t let us transfer anymore before we have the tests done. I’ll need to speak to him again and ask about the risks as it’s a lot of money to waste with potentially no benefit at all. Miscarriages all early so nothing to test. Am I better off trying a new clinic now I’m thinking 🤔
I’m surprised he’s pushing it? But then again remember at the end of the day the clinic is a business with success ratings to maintain so best in mind he may have an alter i or motive? My clinic actively discouraged karyotyping despite so many miscarriages and they were very sceptical of PGTA too but I pushed for that. I was allowed to transfer a PGTA yesterday mosaic but very few clinics will agree to that and you’ll have to destroy them all? I know people who’ve retested embryos and got different results each time.
Yes..it’s £2300 to test 4 embryos not including £250 for each embryo to thaw and freeze again. Seems very excessive to me??
We had two early misscarriages. The second one we had the embryo tested and came back as chromosomaly abnormal. We then had karyotype test before even starting IVF and then had all embryos PGTA tested before freezing. PGTA tested normal embryos have 50%+ chance of live birth. Very useful if you knew your previous misscariages happened due to chromosomal abnormalities. Have you had the tissues tested? I also understand your concerns about thawing your embryos for the test and then again. My clinic does not even do that because of the risks.
Sorry about your miscarriages. How early were yours? My first was 5.5 weeks twins, second 6 weeks blighted ovum and 3rd chemical pregnancy. So nothing to test. At first consultant thought it was just cos first one was twins so doomed to fail, second one unlucky, third one…not bad luck…
I see. Harder to test if this early. My first was 5w2d so could not test either and just thought it can happen to anyone. Second 8w3d or around there. Missed misscariage discovered at 10w, so made sure to test that one to get some info. Also depends on your age, the older you are, more chance of chromosomal problems. I was almost 40 and our doctor was telling us we would be lucky to have one normal embryo out of ivf. But out of 3 we got, 2 were normal and one no result. So either we were just unlucky on the natural pregnancies or lucky on the ivf rounds. It is tough. I am not sure what I would do in you situation. Depends on the cost of each test too and how much time you have (your age). Maybe try the karyotyping test first? It won’t threaten your embryos and if it comes good, you know there is a good chance your other embryos could be good. I am sorry about your misscarriages too. It is devastating, especially if it happens repeatadly. The level of anxiety on subsequent pregnancies is undescribable. But I hope you get you rainbow baby after all. Take it day by day and try to get at least some answers before the next transfers.
Thank you. I was always told that because I was under 40 (I’m subsequently now 35 after 2 years of ivf) they wouldn’t test anything because we are most likely healthy and nothing is wrong. Now it’s a u turn saying it’s not bad luck. I will do those blood tests first…like you say nothing to lose by doing that. I have time on my side but feel like time is slipping away. I can’t get my head round the cost - £3300 to test the 4 embryos?!
I agree, if your embryos are from when you were under 35, some of them could still be abnormal but not all. Unless one of you has some hidden chromosomal issue, which the blood test would reveal. Maybe ask about other tests that could have to do with your body affecting pregnancies once they implant. I don’t know much about these, so cannot share expierience there.
I'm wondering if, especially at your age, your miscarriages may not be down to abnormal embryos but to other factors. After 3 miscarriages you may be entitled to a range of tests on the NHS (not PGT I think, but tests for other factors that can affect early loss), I would say it's definitely worth checking with your GP. I would also consider uterine natural killer cell testing, as over active NK cells can result in implantation failure but also early pregnancy loss (Tommy's are a good source of advice, and they also fund research projects you can self-refer to that look at implantation failure and miscarriage). I think at this point you need a miscarriage specialist, and to be honest it doesn't sound like your current Dr is that. I'm so sorry for what you've been through, definitely don't give up hope.
Karyotyping
PGS embryo testing / Alice / EMMA
Testing after embryo transfer 
Genetic Testing (Embryo Screening)
Embryo tested 100% healthy!
