PGT-A Testing

[Jaylaa]

I had my egg collection yesterday, and now I'm contemplating whether to opt for PGT-A testing for the embryos. Given my age (over 40), my doctor advises it, and I need to decide by Tuesday, provided I have viable embryos by then.

The clinic arranged a meeting with the lab to discuss this, but the lab representative mentioned it only improves chances by 10%, so I am confused. I fear ending up with only one or no embryos if I proceed.

While I'm researching online, even the HFEA website says "to date there is little evidence showing it improves the chances of having a baby for most fertility patients". What is the best source of information about testing?

[Football61]

Hi. PGT-A doesn’t improve your chances of having a baby, but it does save you time if you’re on a race against the clock - or want to avoid having a miscarriage. I carried out two IVF cycles last year with my own eggs, at 44. I was informed that 90% of eggs at my age are chromosomally abnormal, and so I took the decision to do PGT-A testing. Personally, I didn’t want to spend lots of time (and money) transferring embryos that weren’t viable - given I was on a race against the clock. I’m afraid it wasn’t a happy outcome for me. I sent 5 embryos for testing over the two cycles, and they unfortunately all came back abnormal. Really upsetting and difficult to stomach that I had nothing to transfer over the two cycles - but I also wouldn’t want to have experienced the inevitable BFNs or miscarriages. It’s a tricky decision. Wishing you the very best of luck with your cycle x

[Jumpppy]

If you aren't banking and you don't get more than 2 or 3 embryos it won't save you time or money. If you've had multiple miscarriages and are trying to avoid that trauma it's helpful as long as you are OK with the risk that you may discard unintentially viable embryos. Be aware in the UK if you say "yes" to testing it's a final decision - you can't decide later you want to not know (i.e. if they are abnormal or have certain levels of mosaicisms).

Good luck!

[Systema23]

hi Jaylaa

I used PGT-A testing on my second cycle at 41. I would agree with everything the last 2 posters said. In my case only one embryo was suitable for testing and I still had to proceed with that.

Luckily for me that one embryo was eupiloid and suitable for transfer and I am currently 28 weeks pregnant with a very active baby boy.

If I had known that only one embryo was suitable for transfer I probably would not have bothered with the testing. That being said, I am grateful for the 4 month break between stims for retrieval and FET as they do take a toll on the body and spirit.

Ultimately, you need to weigh up the best option for you. For me, my primary considerations were my age, cost involved and the thought of BFNs and miscarriages on my mental health if I didn’t test.

[Twiglet2]

for me it would depend on him may blasts yoj get. Less than 3 wouldn’t bother but more than 3 I would consider it. How many embryos have you got so far? It doesn’t increase your chances in anyway just saves time (and money) transferring lots back that may not be chromosomally normal. If only a few embryos that benefit isn’t realised as you are quicker (and often cheaper) just transferring back. Either way I would at least put one back fresh now since you are all prepped for a transfer so be a shame to waste that and if 3+ others maybe test them? Thats just my thoughts though Xx

[happypupp]

Yes statistically PGTA tends to pay off for women over 40 if you have enough eggs/blastocysts to test. At 43, I did 3 ECs for embryo banking in 2023 thanks to a high AMH but not PCOS, and I'm in my 18th week with the best quality euploid from the 3rd cycle.My results over 3 EC cycles were 38 eggs collected, 9 blastocysts, 3 euploids + 1 mosaic.

However, say there was only one blastocyst from your cycle, there isn't much point in paying more £ for testing as there aren't muliple embryos to choose from and PGTA is expensive. As you'd have to wait for 3 weeks+ to wait for the result, you might as well transfer the only embryo for less or no extra cost and wait 2 weeks for a pregnancy test!

The only downside of this approach is there is a chance you could conceive with a chromosomally abnormal embryo e.g. trisomy 21 I.e. downs syndrome.

In my second EC, we ended up with 4 blasts out of 14 eggs. The fastest growing, cosmetically best looking embryo turned out to be trisomy 21 hence not selected for transfer.

[BlondieGirll]

Hi Jaylaa,

It's definitely a difficult decision. I decided to go for it only because I was seeing a fertility acupuncture specialist and she recommended everyone to do it - when I asked why, she made a good point. If you don't and for whatever reason the transfer fails, they will ALWAYS say it was because the embryo wasn't chromosomally normal. They will never look at other factors (i.e. uterine environment). If they know the embryo was normal and it still doesn't work, they won't waste time and will actually investigate where they need to. Not sure if that helps at all.