PGTA testing or fresh transfer

[Glasses1234]

I had my egg retrieval today and was lucky enough to be told they have collected 19 eggs.

Please help, I have been told I need to decide to either.

A. Go through with a fresh embryo transfer and start more meds tomorrow

Or

B. Pay for PGTA testing which was recommended previously because of multiple miscarriages. This would then be a frozen transfer.

Has anyone had a similar choice to make?

[Greenleaves1]

Personally I'm a fan of frozen as it gives your body a chance to repair after the egg collection.

[VeeVee_bb]

Hi Glasses - congrats on 19 eggs

I personally am torn with regards PGTA; because it's a lot of money and my one and only euploid did not implant (I sent 4 for testing) previously. I was 40.

I've had multiple discussions with different people on this topic and I have 6 more embryos from further cycles and have decided not to do PGTA as I didn't want to risk losing any from the testing process: I was told it's not 100% accurate, and the embryo can sometimes correct itself when in the natural environment.. but that also means I risk miscarrying.

I think the bottomline is, if you have a lot of blasts to begin with, then definitely consider PGTA.

You are also younger so your chances of making euploids are higher; so perhaps prepare for a fresh transfer anyway and decide when you know how many blastocysts you have?

All the best.

[Glasses1234 in reply to VeeVee_bb]

I don't know what blastocysts is? I find it frustrating having gone private that I'm not having the up front advice on whether I should pay extra for the frozen option with pgta or just risk this first attempt with fresh.

Money isn't unlimited which is why I'm looking to take the best option in the first place as you can imagine.

I have a history of multiple miscarriages hence why the offer of pgta is on the table. It's so many decisions.

Also if I had had 20 eggs I would have had 20 eggs rather than 19 I would have not had a choice and I would have to have gone the frozen route. So wondering why 1 egg takes that decision away.

Thank you so much for responding

[VeeVee_bb in reply to Glasses1234]

Hi - you should get a call within 24hrs to let you know how many fertilised. Did you do ICSI? Between day 3 to day 5 (blastocysts are made from day 5, up to date 7), the drop-off rate is 30-50%. So, even though you had 19eggs collected, you may not get 19 blastocysts..

Which clinic are you with? They should inform you of the process before asking you to make the decision on PGTA.

It is true that an FET gives the body a chance to recover, so perhaps consider that too.

IVF is an evolving science and there’s a mountain of very subjective information out there. So don’t rush into things unless you are absolutely comfortable. Also, consult with clinic if you are ever unsure, u pay a lot of money and are entitled to ask questions and to be informed.

[CyclingAddict]

I waited, which gave my body a chance to recover, and opted for PGT-A testing. I'm now 21 weeks pregnant with my little boy. For me it was worth it as I had multiple failed transfers and one chemical pregnancy. Of course there's no guarantee a 'healthy' embryo will take, but it gave me peace of mind to know that it stood a decent chance. Good luck! X

[MagicTourmaline]

Hi Glasses1234, I am personally in huge favour of PGTA testing.

I was really nervous when I had to decide but going with it for me it was the best decision!

My view:

It doesn't give you a higher chance for it to be successful, but it reduces the heartache and losing prescious time...

It is not cheap, but a failed cycle is much more expensive...

This was my 3rd cycle, never done a PGTA testing before, had 2 failed transfer, 1 miscarriage...

This cycle I had 5 blastocyst, they were able to test 4 and 2 was euploid (normal)... Transfering any of the other 3 higly likely would have failed...

And to be honest knowing I had a transfer of a tested euploid embryo helped me to be more positive about the transfer, gave me more hope and a positive mindset has a good affect on the result... I am 9w1d pregnant... 😊

And as the others said, I found it better to give my body a rest after egg collection and have a FET.

I wish you all the luck in the world with your transfer! 💕

[Purple_skies]

I had 3 failed transfer and 1 chemical pregnancy before I did PGTA. I only put 1 embryo for the PGTA tested embryo and got pregnany on my 2nd embryo. It did give me a peace of mind but it was costly. We did extensive tests but could not find reason for failed implantation so I went for PGTA.

[Littlelou0502]

I have been in a similar position, the only way I got my little girl was through pgta, I’ve just had another round using pgta and awaiting genetic results currently! I can only speak from my experience but it worked for us! Have everything crossed for you what ever you decide! Nothing is easy in this process ❤️

[Gemcow]

Hi, it’s so stressful having to make these decisions and going back and forth in your mind about what to do. I had a hybrid cycle where they transferred one fresh (ended in chemical) and then PGTA and froze the rest. Out of 6 frozen embryos only one came back normal so it was worth it for us as it’s saved us alot of time and heartache. But this was based on my history of 7 miscarriages and trying to avoid anymore. I’ve currently in the tww of my normal embryo transfer so I’m not sure if it is successful yet but I’m just glad I’m not going through months of failed transfers/miscarriages.

All these decisions are so hard and ultimately every one is different, I’m really hoping that you are able to be at peace with whatever you decide ❤️ good luck xxxxxxx

[Rainbow2023]

Like Gemcow for with first cycle we took a hybrid approach. We did a frozen transfer (to give my body a break from the meds) of our best graded embryo which sadly ended in an early miscarriage at 6 weeks. The remaining 4 were tested and 1 came back normal but didn’t go on to stick.

Since then we’ve had 3 more cycles resulting all 3 x blastocysts, all normal and successful transfer on the first attempt.

If you have a history of failed cycles or age isn’t on your side (I was 40+ when we started our journey), I would strongly recommend PGTA testing. Although it isn’t cheap it can save you headache, time and money in the long run.

All the very best to you xx

[Ctk123]

I did PGTA testing on my second round having had 2 miscarriages from our first round. We ended up with 5 normal embryos. We transferred the first in March but unfortunately I had another miscarriage (blighted ovum). Doctors said there was probably an issue with the embryo which they don’t test for in PGTA testing. I’m still glad we tested and hopefully one of our others will work but testing sadly doesn’t seem to 100% guarantee another miscarriage won’t happen- though I do hope we’ve just been unlucky this time.

Something I wish I’d asked my clinic now is whether you can do a fresh transfer with an untested embryo and test any others you get. Not sure what the answer would be but couldn’t hurt to ask. Good luck!

[leo1980]

hello lovely. I was really torn on PGTA I had success’s and failures on them that initially it didn’t seem worth it. However on my current pregnancy, we were told we had high probability for chromosomal abnormalities ie downs etc. we did the test as requested and had to wait a week for the results. In that time I contacted the embryologist and she shared the report from the lab which showed all embryos in the batch and what abnormalities they had those were discarded Ofcourse but she also shared the report of the normal ones… which made all the difference as our test results came back low. So it was a piece of mind! And reassurance. I was 39 when the embryos were made and 43 when it was transferred. We took a long break from IVF to concentrate on charitable and personal endeavours. Hope this helps.

[Jaylaa]

This decision is so hard. I finished my cycle last month and was pressured to do the testing. Now that I had more time to research the topic, I don't think I would have done it.

[hoping_for_our_time]

I PGTA tested 4 embryos. Only 1 was euploid. Prepped for a frozen transfer and then it failed to thaw. Oh how I wish I'd done a fresh transfer!

As others have said there is the option to transfer the best looking one as a fresh then test the rest. That is what I would do if I could turn back time. However it wouldn't have worked anyway as just found I need immunology treatment for NK cells.If you keep having failures I'd definitely recommend testing.

[Wishinandahopin]

with 19 eggs I would definitely go down the frozen and PGTA testing route. If you have had multiple miscarriages this can help rule out chromosomal issues and if that doesn’t seem to be an issue will give you time to work out what else could be causing miscarriages (endometriosis, immune issues, blood clotting issues etc etc) before doing a transfer.

Also if you do do PGTA there are three results: Euploid (normal), Aneuploid (abnormal) and Mosaic (a third option that is most likely to be normal) so make sure your clinic will transfer mosaic embryos in case you get some of those.

Good luck!

[Blessed5510]

Wishing you the best! If they recommend testing I would. We did as well. Unfortunately our 1st PGTA graded 3AB girl transfer ended in miscarriage. Our second PGTA 3AB boy transfer now and we are 14 weeks today.