The question of oe or de is still tbc but id love your thoughts on pgta
If we do go straight to DE our Dr in Spain said they don’t pgta test as the donor is younger than me (I’m 45) but the donor age is 35 and below. I won’t get told until day of transfer what their age is.
This has left me feeling a bit confused as I pgta testing in ivf in the uk is always insisted on. Well it has at least at all the conversations I’ve had even friends who have done ivf and are around 35
Is it a necessity do I push for it?
Thank you all
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Lk79
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Hello As far as I am aware it isn't common practice to PGTA test embryos where donor eggs have been used. Largely this is because the age of the donor means that the likelihood of issues is quite low. That is not to say that there will never be an issue though and in some cases recipients have had such a rough history that the testing is important to them despite using a donor. Also if you don't know the age of the donor, they could be in their mid 20s or their mid 30s so I understand what you're saying as someone age 35 will have a higher chance of PGTA abnormal embryos than someone age 25 for example.
If it is important to you then by all means you should insist upon it or find a clinic that will support you with it. X
Thanks skittles. That’s what has me worried. If I was using OE at 35 (like my friend) she was recommended to have their embryos tested. That’s why I was a bit confused as to why they’d think a 35 donor would be safe not to bother. I think I’ll say if the donor is of a certain age then to test and if super young then not to maybe?! X
Personally I think that is a good call but I am generally in favour of PGTA testing having used it before. I wonder if you can also have an option to tell your clinic you would like a donor age 30 (for example) or less if you feel this would help you feel more confident without testing. The disadvantage being you can limit the donor pool by specifying more crudentials. This might not be the case for you anyway in that you may not mind having a mid 30s donor but just raising as point for discussion if you feel might be helpful / relevant. X
honestly I would pgta test them all. I’ve been on the donor route path and had a number of pgta tested abnormal embryos just because they are younger doesn’t mean that they are producing normal embryos. On one of our double donor rounds the woman was 23 … all abnormal xxx
Honestly we genuinely thought it would all be fine and were soo shocked when the results came in. They were fab quality embryos too. Absolutely devastating but it saved us transferring ones that were never going to work. We just pushed and said we want them tested. Xxx
hi, I’ve only had treatment in the UK and never PGT testing, due to additional cost I think. Used my own eggs between ages 39 - 42, 6 transfers, 1 mmc and 1 baby.
Then DE, 1 transfer from 2 embryos made, 1 baby. So I guess, I would have benefitted from PGT testing my own embryos and avoided 5 BFNs potentially. It would be additional cost for me but I do think it’s a good idea and avoided the extra transfer meds and of course BFN heartbreak.
My donor was 23 and I got 2 embryos from 7 eggs thawed and no one suggested PGT testing, although I didn’t ask for it either as it would be at an extra cost. I do think it’s the gold standard to test but as far as I know, few of the packages include this and they seem to be happy to offer partial refunds and second cycles instead.
So after all that, no I don’t think it’s a necessity but it does offer a little more scientific input in a process which for me, seemed absolutely random x good luck xx
Hi there, I am in agreement with KitKat10 that PGTA is not a necessity even for women over 35 as it is a treatment add on. From my personal experience, when I explored several IVF clinics, I observed that some clinics strongly recommend it and others don’t.
When I read about it on the HFEA website, it was clear that there was no evidence it increased a woman’s chance of success. Someone shared an article on this forum that indicated that it was an imperfect science because only a part of an embryo is tested and there has been evidence that some embryos can correct themselves.
I have also seen numerous cases on here that women could not understand why a PGT tested embryo resulted in a BFN. Others found the process of embryos being discarded after testing really painful.
That being said, some people opt for it to reduce the likelihood of BFNs or miscarriages and others believe in the science. Therefore, it is always down to personal preference.
Whatever you decide, your clinic should support you. I think the best clinics are the ones willing to explore treatment options with women taking their views into account and able to tailor their practice to the woman’s needs.
I’ve had 6 egg collections in the UK all own eggs (from age 37-42) and have had 2 successes and never PGTA tested. It wasn’t until about round 4 and a couple of miscarriages that it was even mentioned to me by consultant and was defo never insisted upon. The more I looked into it the less and less I felt the need to do it, especially as I was getting 1-3 embryos per collection in my more recent rounds. If you get lots and lots of embryos or have a genetic condition then I can absolutely see the benefits but other than that I personally think they have the best chance being transferred back, especially if using a young donor. It’s all personal choice though xx
Hi, I've had 2 terminations in the second trimester for fatal anomalies. One was with my own eggs and one was with donor eggs abroad. Both were untested. While PGTA doesn't guarantee you success, it gives you a much greater feeling of confidence in what you're transferring. If I can help with anything feel free to message me x
Ive heard clinics PGTA DE before and that is because younger or older, there still is high chance of aneuploidy so if you want to avoid repeat ETs youd go for the testing. It also helps put your mind at ease regarding chromosomal diseases etc that donor has been tested against but you wont know if baby has picked two silent genes for example etc....ie the combination genetics.
Hi, if you use DE, defo transfer PGT tested no matter what age is the donor, it reduces miscarriage rate and BFN and save transfer fee, plus choose donor under 28yo if possible because the difference between PGT tested embryos from a 35yo and 20s is its vitality/energy, that’s why even PGT tested embryos can’t guarantee live birth but younger donor’s tested ones are stronger to experience biopsy. Also UK’s surrogacy regulations require transfer PGT tested embryos, guess why? Protect women from unnecessary miscarriages caused by transferring abnormal ones
But if you use your own egg over 40s, reconsider it as embryos may not be strong enough to make it to blast stage or can not survive after biopsy unless you have enough number of blasts, I experienced blast degraded or died after biopsy and also got no result PGT tested embryos which is heartbreaking, I experienced 6 untested embryos transfer no success, then changed mind to do PGT test, but it’s hard for over 40s and it may waste embryos, so if you choose DE, why not choose best option young and tested ones? Wish you all the best and get your baby soon
in my DE cycle, I didn’t test any, I was told the quality (all 5 AA) was such that I didn’t need to. Successful embryo is now 4 months old. Donor was 26. My treatment was in Spain
I had 5 tested double donor embryos transferred (first I transferred 2 and then single embryos for the final 3) before finally getting success with number 6 (also tested). I was 46 at the time of transfer and 47 when she was born. I also had own egg treatment in my 30's (collections aged 32, 33 & 35 or 36 I can't recall) and had 2 untested embryos transferred each time. First I miscarried at 6 weeks, second resulted in 1 baby and third resulted in twins. Jury for me is out in terms of testing although I never had any to freeze in my own egg collections so it was a case of transfer and hope for the best. My first born was a day 2 "average" embryo and the twins were 3AA. My donor bubba was a 5AA tested.
Hey, I was 32 when we did PGT-A testing on my embryos. We had 11 embryos tested and 4 came back as 'abnormal' - one of these was a 4AA. I had it done because of multiple failed transfers, despite my 'young' age. For us it was worth it as I now have my 12 week old son (he was a 5AA embryo). I guess it depends on the quality of the embryos. All my BC's came back as abnormal and all but one of my AAs came back as normal. I think if you have a high quality batch than it may not be worth it. But if you have a bit of a mix bag or if they are middling/lower quality gradings than it may be worth having them tested.
Its a personal decision and there are pros and cons to both sides. We recently cycled again with a new donor as all 5 transfers with our first donor were unsuccessful (2 failed to implant and 3 were chemicals). We were advised not to test the embryos because she was young but I regret that decision now as it could potentially have saved us some time, money and heartbreak. Also, even if they were all normal that that would still have given us valuable information e.g. suggesting that there may be other things going on that need to be explored. We decided to test this time with the new donor (age 24) and luckily have had really good results. I've also had miscarriages in the past with my own eggs and wanted to minimise the risk of that happening again. Age will be the main factor to consider - if you have a donor over 30 then statistically, you are likely to have some abnormal ones in the mix
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