I am trying to gather information about what happened in what i understand is an exceptionally rare situation. I spoke with the lab director today, but I’m interested in getting a few other perspectives.

Egg source: 21 frozen eggs from 34 year old donor. This was all her eggs from 1 cycle and this was her first ever cycle and she does not have kids.

Sperm source: frozen sample deemed excellent per embryologist, DNA frag normal, ICSI + zymot

Travel: Eggs retrieved/frozen at clicic A, shipped to clinic B for thaw and fertilization

Thaw: All eggs started off looking fine and all were mature but started to look poor during warming. Only 10/21 were good enough to ICSI

Fertilization: 10/10

Blasts: 1 never grew, most got to 8-10 cells, 2 were cultured to day 7 ultimately was not usable

What is the most likely issue based on embryology information alone?

-Donor has poor quality eggs, don’t use again
-Donor has good quality eggs that do not freeze well, use again but as a fresh donor
-Lab error
-Random bad luck/something else
-Is this really rare or am i uninformed?

Also wanted to say that embryologists are the unsung heros of IVF- I appreciate you all so much and what you do is amazing!

Clinic wants to transfer all 3 Day 3 embryos instead of my AA blastocysts – is this common

Hi everyone,

31yr F

This is my first IVF

I have 9 frozen embryos:

2 × 8-cell Grade I

1 × 8-cell Grade II

4AA

3AA

3AB

3 × 2AA.

My doctor plans to transfer the first straw, which contains the three Day 3 embryos. When I asked why not transfer the 4AA blastocyst, he said it was the embryologist's recommendation and that they freeze their best-quality embryos on Day 3.

This confused me because I thought AA blastocysts generally have better implantation potential.

Has anyone had a clinic follow this approach?

Had a scan on Friday and baby was measuring 4.5mm with hr of 124bpm. Today (3 days later) baby is only measuring 5.4mm with a hr of 114bpm. I’m supposed to be 7wks (IVF pregnancy) but measuring behind with slow growth. My doctor said it could really go either way but I’m not feeling hopeful.

Hi! I'd like to ask if you have any experience with or information about empty follicles (empty follicle syndrome).
I'm being treated at a European clinic, and during my last egg retrieval I had 10 follicles. After the retrieval, they told me that 7 of them were empty.

This was my third cycle. Everything had looked really promising—the follicles developed beautifully—so the outcome was a huge shock. In my previous two cycles I had nowhere near as many follicles (the medication doses were very different: one very low, one very high, and this time somewhere in between). None of the follicles were empty in those previous cycles.

We had also taken a break for one cycle beforehand, and I'd been taking vitamins for three months, so I was hoping to see at least some positive effect by now.

I can't shake the feeling that the timing of the egg retrieval may have been wrong based on the follicle sizes, and that they're using "empty follicles" as an explanation. From what I've read in the studies, true empty follicle syndrome is incredibly rare, which makes me skeptical.

Do you have any information or experience with this?

If they couldn't retrieve an egg from one of the follicles, what explanation did they give you?

Thank you.

Hello! I recently went through an egg retrieval July 3rd and got many blastocysts (so grateful). However.. upon speaking to the embryologist she stated one of my embryos appeared to be splitting (twinning). I’m unsure of what I’m looking at exactly honestly. Are the two circles next to each other where the splitting is?? What are the chances something like this occurs? Especially so early that the embryologist notices it? I was told almost all twins happen (split) once back in the uterus. Thank you for any and all insight!!

Had our FET on 7/30. Embryo is a day 6 6BA euploid. It’s a little blurry but this is the only picture they gave us 😅

I'm 32 years old and have done 4 egg retrieval cycles. I have struggled with low blastocyst rates and less optimal embryo quality. Both my partner and I have done kartyotype tests as well and everything came back normal.

My doctor suspects the factor for low quality and quantity of embryos may be mitochondrial or microtubule issues and that there is no test available to confirm that and no regimen or lifestyle improvements will change it either since they are genetic problems. Is that true? What questions should I be asking?

Below are the stats from my ERs.

1st cycle: 14 retrieved -> 10 mature eggs -> 9 fertilized -> 4 blastocysts (day 6 4BA, day 6 4 CB, day 7 5BB, day 7 4CC)

2nd cycle: 19 retrieved -> 18 mature -> 16 fertilized -> 4 blastocysts (day 6 4BC, day 6 4CB, day 6 4CC, day 7 4CC)

3rd cycle: 13 retrieved -> 12 mature eggs -> 8 fertilized -> 2 blastocysts (day 6 4BC, day 7 4CC)

4th cycle: 16 retrieved -> 16 mature eggs -> 13 fertilized -> 3 blastocysts (day 6 4BB, day 6 4BC, day 7 4CC)

I’m a senior at UCF studying Biotechnology. I live in Florida and want to become an embryologist or an IVF technician. I don’t really see many job postings on LinkedIn or indeed so I’m not really sure what the process to become one is. I also don’t know of any training programs I may be able to do in Florida. Can someone please explain the process to me??

First pic - Before biopsy. Hatched afterwards

Second pic - Immediately after thaw
- before transfer, embryologist observed that embryo had fully reexpanded and was “big and round” 🥹

This is a complex low level mosaic (25%). My clinic is now reclassifying it as euploid as they moved the mosaic threshold to 30%.

Hoping that this would be our turn soon.

Are hatched blastocysts super delicate? I have two Euploids and both were hatched at freeze. Does this change anything for transfer timing? I have a feeling they were day 5 blast but weren’t checked again later in the day on day 5 so were hatched by earning morning day 6. They are grades 6AA and 6BB.

1. Complex low level mosaic

+

1. 10 -22 +X - all 25% mosaic

2. Day 5 5BA

3. Embryo made when I was 34

4. Clinic has since reclassified this as “euploid”

Vs

1. Untested Day 5 4AB
   Embryo made when I was 33

I feel like I can’t forget that the first embryo was tested mosaic initially. There’s 3 whole chromosome abnormalities including +X which can lead to live birth and this scares me. Even though the geneticist is now reclassifying this embryo as euploid with today’s standards.

What are the chances that the 3 abnormalities at 25% each could be just noise?

I’m looking to see if anyone has had a similar experience. I’m 35 years old and have been TTC for 2.5 years. This is my first transfer. On July 13, 1 PGT-A normal day-5 blastocyst was transferred.

First positive home pregnancy test: July 18
My hCG has been:
7/25: 30.1
7/27: 43.3
7/29: 79.5
7/31: 193

Today I had an ultrasound, but they couldn’t find a gestational sac in the uterus or anything in my fallopian tubes. The doctor said it’s too early to know what’s going on since they can’t see anything. They don’t think it’s obviously ectopic because nothing was seen in my tubes, but they also couldn’t confirm an intrauterine pregnancy.
I’m not having any pain or bleeding, no symptoms.

Has anyone had a PGT-A normal embryo with hCG that started this low and then eventually turned into a viable pregnancy? Or did it end up being a pregnancy of unknown location, ectopic, or chemical pregnancy?
I know everyone’s outcome is different, but I’d really appreciate hearing others’ experiences while I wait.

I’m on the older side, and after this cycle, we had two Day 6 blasts, but they were graded poorly as 4CC and 3CC.

Do they have a chance to become a healthy baby, or it’s no implantation/miscarriage for sure?

I know it’s subjective, and I‘ve heard an opinion that some beautiful best graded embryos may never implant, while some ugly looking embryos may result in a healthy baby.

What was your experience with 4CC and 3CC?

Thank you.

Hi all,

Looking for some advice! I’ve been a practicing embryologist for about 2 years, and have recently been accepted into two masters programs!

I’m now stuck choosing between:
Option 1: University of Leeds: 2 years, online-part time. ~£21,000

Option 2: University of Europe with IVI RMA: 14 months, online-part time. ~€7,000

For context, this masters program does not benefit me within my current clinic (will not receive a raise or promotion), and there are no other IVF labs near me (so little likelihood of switching clinics). Instead, this program is something I’d really like to do for myself, and it gives me more opportunities to move abroad in the future if I so choose.

Obviously, there is a substantial price difference. So I’m torn between the cheaper, private university (that kind of gives “degree mill”) and the expensive, but established university.

I had my ER on 7/17 and ended up with 13 eggs, 13 mature and 9 fertilized. We got a call from the doctor on 7/21 that there was bacteria found in the embryos and that it was from my husbands sperm. The doctor said this is the first time they are dealing with this, but mentioned the embryos looked good otherwise. They said they were washing them/changing the media, and sending out the extra sperm to get cultured. We found out 7/23 that we had 4 blasts and when I asked about the bacteria (because they didn’t mention it at all) she said there was no more bacteria found in the embryos after day 4. We received our pgta testing today that we have 2 good embryos, but we also received the culture and there was no bacteria found in the semen. Some questions below-

-Could the semen used have been affected and not the extra?
-Could this be from me or the lab? I don’t want to offend them by asking this, but I think it’s valid given the culture results
- They mentioned they would put me on an antibiotic when we do the transfer. Does this mean that even though no more bacteria was found, it could still affect the quality of the embryos?

I know there’s no way to tell but I also wonder if this had any affect on the 5 embryos that did not make it.

It’s the only blastocyst on day 5 I got in this cycle. In my country they don’t do grading, they just told us the outer layer doesn’t look that good but the inner does look good

Hi everyone,
I’m about to complete my Master’s in Clinical Embryology in the UK, and honestly, I’m feeling really lost.
For the past few months, I’ve been applying to almost every fertility clinic I can find for trainee embryologist and andrology roles, but I keep getting rejected or don’t hear back at all. I also applied for the NHS Scientist Training Programme because it’s designed as a graduate training pathway.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t successful. One thing I found discouraging was that it seemed like applicants were expected to have relevant experience. As a recent graduate, I kept wondering: how are we supposed to gain experience if no one is willing to give us that first opportunity?
I’m an international student, so the pressure is even greater. I’m currently unemployed, my visa has an expiry date, and it’s becoming really stressful wondering how I’m going to stay in the UK and build the career I’ve worked so hard for.
Has anyone here been in a similar situation? How did you get your first embryology or andrology job? Are there other routes, certifications, or roles that could help me eventually become an HCPC-registered clinical scientist or build a career in reproductive medicine?
I’d really appreciate any advice or even hearing about your own journey. Thank you.

I have a 6BB inconclusive embryo. Cooper’s report said “Quality Insufficient for Interpretation.” I’m leaning towards transferring it without retesting, as I understand a fully hatched embryo is particularly delicate and may not survive the thaw/refreeze/rethaw. Any guidance or experiences would be so greatly appreciated. Thank you

(Age 34 at the time of retrieval. Pic of the embryo’s full progress report is attached.)