Day 3 or 5

[FREEDOM2023]

I have been trying to get pregnant last five years. I had six transfer ,one miscarriage. I had egg collection when I was 40 and three eggs were collected ,we froze them day 3,top quality. Long story short,the clinic is overtaken by another clinic. They are not doing day 3 transfer and I am not keen to leave them if they get to day 5 as I feel they have a better chance in my womb. Every time you defrost the embryos will loose something. Am I over thinking?My options are either I will move to another clinic who can transfer them day 3 or I stay with the same clinic and see if they get to day 5. Their argument is if they don't make it to day 5 in the lab,they wouldn't work in your womb too? Any thoughts or experiences?

[JA-fnuk Partner Nurse Fertility Network UK]

Hope you get some replies to your post that are helpful for you .This forum is an excellent source of support and first hand experiences This is a difficult stressful time for you so look after yourself

Good luck

Janet-Partner

[raverg]

Not sure if helpful, but our clinic said that the embryo has the best chance in your womb. With that said, the NHS protocol after egg collection usually is that if you only have 1 embryo fertilised they'll transfer it on day 3, but if you have more, they'll wait to see if / how many reach day 5 and transfer one of those, if any. So it sounds like maybe they are trying to align you to your protocol.

But if this is a private clinic, surely you signed a contract of sorts, had a written treatment card that they should still honour? Maybe try escalating it to the patient liaison, they must have one, there must have been good reasons and a sound recommendation to freeze on day 3 and transfer day 3 embryos. If they won't honour it, maybe they can refund something and transfer them to a clinic that would do it? Can't hurt to meet with other clinics too, as sometimes they will say "I would have done exactly what the previous clinic did" and at least you'd know as opposed to second guess, and feel like this big decision is all on you.

Best of luck! xx

[FREEDOM2023 in reply to raverg]

I already escalated it and they couldn't care less and saying we can't change our protocol for you. But they don't see they are the who change my protocol with the other clinic. They are black and white

[raverg in reply to FREEDOM2023]

How infuriating! I would be looking to at least meet with other clinics and see what they say as well. At the end of the day you want to feel listened to and in good hands.

[Skittles11]

Hello This is a difficult one and people will definitely have different experiences and opinions.

My own personal experience - I have been with two different clinics. Both clinics would take the embryos to Day 5 even if I only had one embryo. They said (as you have mentioned in your post) that if they don't make them to Day 5 in the lab then they are very unlikely to in the body.

However what you are comfortable with matters. They are your embryos. If you are unhappy then I would ask for a further discussion to express your concerns and definitely no harm in seeing what other clinics have to say x x

[FREEDOM2023 in reply to Skittles11]

I wouldn't mind if it is a new cycle and they weren't already frozen. They will defrost them and if all reaches to day 5,they will have to freeze some of them again as they can only transfer two at a time. Everytime you froze and defrost they will loose something....

[Chel91]

I transported my embryos to a different clinic because I wasn't happy. It's actually a lot simpler than it sounds! Although the day it was being transferred yes I was nervous. My new clinic is actually more reasonable priced so I have actually saved money.

Statistically day 3 transfer is the same or maybe slightly better odds of success for each embryo like you have said, it does seem they may do best in the body. As others have said it's also your choice and I'd do what you think is best for you xx

[psalm18 in reply to Chel91]

I'm in London and I was wondering how the transferring process of embryos from one clinic to another worked. I have had embryos at my current clinic for couple of years and I want to do transfer but they are so expensive with my clinic. What clinic did you use? Please dm me if you don't mind.

[FREEDOM2023 in reply to psalm18]

I haven't transferred them yet. I am still talking to my current clinic. But I think I won't have a chance other than transfer them to another clinic. Aren't we allowed to mention clinic names here?

[Chel91 in reply to psalm18]

I just paid a transport company to do all the work honestly. It wasn't super expensive. I found the clinic I wanted, told both clinics, signed paperwork. The transport company then handled everything else. What you pay will depend on a few factors, like how far they are transporting, and if it is within or external to the UK for example. xx

[JoyfulStar]

I am so sorry you are going through this. Sometimes I feel clinics are more worried about stats than what you think. They should at least honour your initial agreement even if they are a different company.

Like you I also advocated for a day 3 transfer which worked in my case. If your embryos were frozen at day 3 then thawing them and seeing if they will grow to day 5 does not make sense to me.

With regards to transferring frozen embryos or sperm, I lived in London when I did IVF and the way it worked was once I had identified a new clinic, they sent me a list of independent transportation companies that they have worked with. I selected one of them and completed a form and paid the company for transporting DH’s sperm. I think they made arrangements with both clinics but there was an admin charge that I had to pay both clinics before the day the sperm was transported. My new clinic included it in the price for freezing it for a year.

While I transferred DH’s sperm, the process would have been the same for frozen embryos.

I hope this was helpful and good luck finding a resolution.

[FREEDOM2023 in reply to JoyfulStar]

I know but it all comes with a cost. New clinic wants new blood test, consultation fee, admin fee, hormone test etc. This is the last thing I need. I already have enough on my plate and I really struggle to cope with.