PGT-A or not ?

[Maria1122]

Hello girls, I’m going to do my 3rd round of ivf this week , and I’m not sure if to do PGT to the embryos or not . I would like to know your experiences . Thank you 🙏🏻

[Boo718]

hello how are you? Personally I would do it. We tested 4 embryos all great quality and they were all abnormal. It saved us so much money and heartache in the long run xxx

[Maria1122 in reply to Boo718]

yes totally agree with you 😔 thank you very much 🙏🏻

[Acbritto]

I tested mine. I think it depends a lot on your age (if over 35yo I’d definitely test them) and also your previous history (if more than 2 previous miscarriages then I’d also say test them). Good luck

[Maria1122 in reply to Acbritto]

thank you so much 🙏🏻 I think I will need to do

[Dinfertilitylady]

I personally think it depends on how many embryos you make. PGT-A is not a perfect science yet & therefore if you only make a couple of embryos per cycle I believe you should give them a chance. If you’re on the older end & getting 8-10 embryos per round then I agree it makes sense as it can get you pregnant quicker. Just remember though a PGT-A tested embryo unfortunately doesn’t guarantee a live birth so there’s that to consider.

[Maria1122 in reply to Dinfertilitylady]

hello Dinfertilitylady, it’s so difficult … I did PGT before I got healthy embryos but didn’t work , so now I’m confuse . But thank you so much for your answer 🙏🏻🤗

[McQueeny]

as everyone says, it’s quite personal and depends on a lot. I never tested on my first 4 egg collections - we only ever had 2 embryos from each round, so preferred to just transfer rather than test and risk losing a viable embryo.

But in our 5th and last egg collection we decided to test - I didn’t have the emotional energy for more failures if avoidable, and I wanted to know what kinds of embryos we were making - if all were abnormal that would nudge us over to donor eggs. So we tested, and it turns out we have 2 healthy embryos….

[Maria1122 in reply to McQueeny]

Hello McQueeny, congrats for your healthy embryos . For me in my first IVF I didn't do the PGT on the embryos and they both implanted but they ended in miscarriages. In my second IVF I decided to do PGT and with the healthy embryos I couldn't even get them implanted... I don't know if the biopsy really affects the embryo or not, thats why im so confuse but my doctor says he recomends to do the PGT… also it’s so expensive

[McQueeny in reply to Maria1122]

oh I see. I am really sorry, that’s really rough. I don’t think the biopsy affects the embryos - at least I was always told it doesn’t. But I don’t know what’s best …. It’s a really tough one 😖

[Bexarama83]

depends on your history and age etc as the other ladies have said. I’d had 2 miscarriages, was approaching 40, 4 rounds down. Did pgta, 6 tested, only 1 normal. Currently 12.5weeks pregnant with that 1 normal embryo 🥰 id recommend depending on circumstances. Good luck xx

[Maria1122 in reply to Bexarama83]

Bexarama83 congrats for your pregnancy , stories like yours makes me keep going !

[rainbowbaby8320]

hi Maria

I just did it on mine. Turns out my fastest developing embryo was not ok and the slow one was the only one which was viable. (So they would have transferred the wrong one and wasted time - I’m 41).

Also they now believe I have auto immune disease and it’s not my eggs… I doubt they would have come to that conclusion without the pgta test… I had other embryos (b grade) transferred too prior to that which didn’t make me pregnant… they were probably ok (or at least some of them) but my body blocked the pregnancy with auto immune disease…

I had a nasty miscarriage last year also which might have been avoided if the embryo was pgta tested…

Not sure how old you are but miscarriages use up your time and therefore quality eggs too while you are waiting for the miscarriage to end… mine went on for months and I had to have it surgically removed because my body wasn’t recognising the baby was not ok!

If I could redo everything I would have tested the embryos in the freezer which I had from my first cycle (when my son was born)… the I would have saved time transferring non viable ones etc.,. I feel like I’ve wasted some time and now my egg quality will be an issue too possibly!

[Maria1122 in reply to rainbowbaby8320]

Hello Rwinbowbaby8320 , congratulations for your son 😍 yes sometimes when we go through difficult miscarriages is when we think about why we didn’t do the PGT to avoid certain scenarios … Me I’m 37 and I had miscarriages as well but when I did the PGT and transferred my healthy embryos any worked, that’s why now I’m a bit confused in what to do . Thank you so much for your message 🙏🏻🤗

[rainbowbaby8320 in reply to Maria1122]

hi Maria

Sorry are you saying you did pgta before and they didn’t work?

Have you considered whether you have an issue in your body like auto immune disease or scar tissue in your womb? X I’m in the same boat if that’s what you are saying… and I’m still going to do pgta and they are now going to give me intralipids… I don’t want to get caught wasting time on more miscarriages…

I think ultimately the consultants don’t really plan the smartest route for their patients… I’m finding I have to push them in that direction… for eg… they were keen to do fresh transfers but if I do that it will use up the rest of my fertile eggs on wasted time?

[Maria1122 in reply to rainbowbaby8320]

Yes, my embryos that passed PGT test didn’t work , then I did histerescopy to check my womb and I had a bit of septum which they removed so now it’s all good in there. Now I’m waiting for my blood results that the immunologist doctor made me do.

The more you can check before another transfer the best to make sure you are doing all you can to avoid any miscarriage or failure implantation. Wish you all the luck for your next transfer 🤗

[rainbowbaby8320 in reply to Maria1122]

Wow we are like IVF twins! I have got my hysteroscopy tomorrow?!

What is septum? I was reading that removing any scar tissue in the womb can go on for months and then sometimes it creates more so I'm hoping it's not that with me!

Is septum scar tissue?

[Maria1122 in reply to rainbowbaby8320]

A septum uterus what I had it’s a normal uterus but in the middle has a small wall diving the cavity into two spaces , but mine was mild .Anyways the removed to make it the uterus bigger . I wish you luck tomorrow for your hysteroscopy !

[rainbowbaby8320 in reply to Maria1122]

oh right! thank you! I hope your immune tests go ok! My Consultant said she would give me the drugs just in case ... I think there are hundreds of auto immune disorders and they may or may not be testing the right one! maybe you should ask your consultant what they will do if the tests are negative? There's another lady who replied on my thread explaining that she tested negative for NK cells, but then they gave her drugs to surpress her immune system and then she fell pregnant!

[Piggypiggy82]

My embryologist called me up once I’d done the consents and told me not to waste my money. 🙈 The biopsy is only a tiny sample of the cells making up the embryo, so they might end up collecting a couple of naff cells when actually the rest of the cells were perfect. Apparently embryos with abnormal cells can correct themselves as they develop. I read a paper recently that showed that many of the so-called abnormal embryos actually go on to be fine, so testing causes embryos that would’ve eventually been okay to be discarded. Our bodies are constantly sidelining duff cells, and embryos can do that too. Apparently testing doesn’t actually lead to more live births. Even with a ‘euploid’ embryo, all that you know is that the sample of cells is perfect.

Even after knowing all this I was still tempted, though 🙈

[Maria1122 in reply to Piggypiggy82]

Hello Piggypiggy82 , I read an article from a doctor explaining exactly what you said as well , and which it makes a lot sense !

[Twiglet2]

we chose not to as only got a couple of embryos the last 2 rounds so decided to ‘test’ them through putting them back but I was quite tempted after quite a few never stuck but the thought of waiting for the results then the frozen transfer etc just seemed like more delays (and money) for us. I don’t think there is a right or wrong answer though it’s a really personal decision xx

[Maria1122 in reply to Twiglet2]

hello Twiglet2, yes I think I will do like you according to how many embryos I will have I will test them or not , because if only two embryos better just to transfer them than waiting for the PGT results etc !

[StarsAllAround]

Hi Maria we decided against it when we were offered as we had only got 1 embryo to day 5 in previous cycles and it just seemed like a lot of money to spend on just one especially as when PGT testing there is a risk they can damage the embryo. If you make lots of blastocyst though and have a history of miscarriages it might be worth it.

[Maria1122 in reply to StarsAllAround]

hello Starsallaround , yes it’s very expensive just for one embryo to do the PGT. Thank you very much for your message 🙏🏻🤗

[Rainbowretrieval]

I did 4 out of my 9 frozen embryos. 2 have failed so far sadly and have 1 more euploid to go. One came back inconclusive and can bd retested free of charge in case it is ok, so that’s what we are doing now in case the next euploid thaw doesn’t work… as others have said, there is no guarantee that it means it will work, but does provide reassurance and suggests if there is an unsuccessful transfer chances the reason is something other then the embryo quality, so helps with further investigations (which we may now have to do on me now 😢)

[Maria1122 in reply to Rainbowretrieval]

hello Rainbowretrieval , so you unfroze your embryos to do the PGT or you did before freezing them ? Me I’m doing the treatment in Spain and when you had 2 euploid transferred (no matter which quality) and no pregnancy they start doing more test on you . I hope soon we can have our baby 🤗

[Rainbowretrieval in reply to Maria1122]

I did mine before they were frozen. However to retest the one that we didn’t get a result on it will need to be thawed, cells taken, and then refrozen. So there’s a risk there. But as it was inconclusive I don’t feel confident to put it in as a transfer embryo anyway. If the next transfer doesn’t work I’ll have to make a call on testing the other 5 which will require a thaw and refreeze. Good luck with your journey.

[Crie1983]

Hello, I’m 40 in a couple of months and I’ve already been through 4 embryo transfers without a successful live birth.

I stared again with a 3 cycle freeze all package and will go for PGT-A testing. I’ve 11 embryos frozen so far and one more egg collection this week. I decided to go for testing even though I know there are risks because after all the time, heartache and money so far on my fertility journey I can’t put myself through transferring more chromosomal abnormal embryos. But this is very much a personal choice so do what feels right for you. Best of luck whatever your choice. X

[Maria1122 in reply to Crie1983]

Hello Crie1983, wow 11 embryos is a lot then yes you can do the PGT testing , still you are doing one more egg retrieval ? I’m also doing this week one egg retrieval let’s see how many embryos will come out ! I wish you good luck and hopefully soon we can have our baby 🤗🙏🏻

[Crie1983 in reply to Maria1122]

Yes one more egg collection at end of this week hopefully. Good luck with yours this week, I’ll have everything crossed for you. Xx

[Icsi_Wincy_Spider]

Hi   Maria1122 , i would. i never used to test but had a mmc at 9 weeks with Trisomy 15 and i told myself I would never mess about with non-tested embryos ever again due to the heartache, and the time it takes (9 weeks pregnant, plus 5 weeks to get my period after miscarriage - at 40 I don't have months to lose) out of the four embryos tested in our last round , two came back euploid (and two aneuploid). Both the euploids have both taken at transfer (got my BFP). It is completely your choice but I would definitely test xxxx

[ucrbutterfly in reply to Icsi_Wincy_Spider]

As many mentioned it depends on your circumstances. We decided to test our embryos. 1 abnormal, 1 was unable to be detected as normal/abnormal and 3 healthy embryos. We transferred 2 initially because I wanted twins, but unfortunately 1 embryo did not survive. However, had a healthy baby girl whom is now 20 months. 2nd round we transferred our last healthy embryo and we have another healthy baby girl, who's 7 months now. Good luck with everything as I know it can be draining, but super rewarding.

[Maria1122 in reply to ucrbutterfly]

hello Ucrbutterfly , what a beautiful story congratulations for your two baby girls 💝

[Maria1122 in reply to Icsi_Wincy_Spider]

hello Icsi yes when you get a miscarriage then a lot time can go there … you are right I didn’t think about this point . Thank you so much 🤗