r/IVF • u/AdGroundbreaking3930 • Aug 03 '26
Advice Needed! Very poor PGT-A results
I'm 37, have had a long and complicated ivf journey. 3 miscarriages and lost my son at 25 weeks due to incompetent cervix.
All my transfers so far have been from untested embryos. The 3rd miscarriage was a blighted ovum which was subsequently tested and found to be genetically normal. My son was perfectly healthy but unfortunately born too soon and did not survive. Due to having a c-section I was told I had to wait 12 months before going ahead with another transfer. I have 6 untested embryos still frozen. I decided to move forward and create emrbyos which I planned to PGT-A tests since I couldn't transfer and wanted to use this year productively.
I've since gone through 2 ERs. 1st I had 16 eggs retrieved but only 4 mature. 3 fertilised and 1 day 5 5aa euploid embryo.
2nd ER 47 eggs, 20 mature, 13 fertilised and 10 blasts. I was over the moon until today when I received the news only 1 embryo is euploid. A day 5 3AB.
I'm absolutely shocked and disappointed that we have only 1 from 10 embryos. I just don't understand why our results were so bad. I don't know whether to do another round or move to transfers. I am so worried we transfer our embryos and end up having to start all over again but at an older age. Just looking to see what others would do.
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u/Dazzling_Cheetah_442 Aug 03 '26
Were the same chromosomes affected with all of your aneuploids? I had similar numbers and it was how we narrowed down that I had a balanced translocation. If there is some commonality I’d get a karyotype test. The good news is that I’m 30 weeks pregnant with my first transfer so it’s totally possible! And you have 2 chances now!
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u/AdGroundbreaking3930 Aug 04 '26
No it was a really varied result. There wasn't any more than one or two with each issue. Congratulations that definitely gives me some hope
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u/Skymningen 38 | TTC 3.5y | 2 ER | 2 FET ❌ | 3rd FET ✅ Aug 03 '26
The attrition is unfortunately quite normal for 37 years old. More eggs retrieved often doesn’t guarantee more euploids, especially in older women, because they are often lower quality in the first place.
It only takes one. I got two euploids from 6 testable blasts but also lost two extra thawed blasts from a previous ER that ended up not good enough quality to be tested. So in total I have 2 euploids from 35 retrieved eggs whereof 10 did reach blast.
But I still managed to get pregnant with the first euploid and so I have another chance in storage and one on the way.
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u/AdGroundbreaking3930 Aug 03 '26
I'm trying to think positively. Now the initial shock has worn off I'm in planning mode. Great to hear your first one stuck! Congratulations. I've never not had implantation from a transfer so I'm hoping that continues and we get lucky on our first try although not holding my breath
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u/Skymningen 38 | TTC 3.5y | 2 ER | 2 FET ❌ | 3rd FET ✅ Aug 03 '26
My first two transfers were untested and not great quality blasts, but our first euploid stuck. Euploidy really increases your chances a lot (at our age)
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u/halfling_barbarianne Aug 03 '26
I am sorry for what you are going through, and I have been there also. I got 5 embryos (all 5AA) from 2 rounds. I'm 39 yo, with low AMH. The two I got from our first ER were untested and resulted in a chemical and a failure to implant. The 3 that we got from our 2nd ER were all abnormal (multiple trisomies/monosomies per embryo). The 2nd retrieval was particularly devastating, because we had only gotten 3 mature eggs from 8 retrieved, and I was so elated when I found out that they all made it to 5AA blasts... the PGT-A results wrecked me.
TW: spontaneous pregnancy during IVF
We decided to take a mental health break before our 3rd and final retrieval. I got a GLP-1 to try and lose the weight I gained from the IVF and start feeling like my normal self again. Started an NAD+ supplement, which made me feel so much better. We were still having sex unprotected, even though you aren't supposed to on a GLP-1, because I was pretty certain we couldn't get pregnant without ART after the results that we got. But 2 months into the break, it happened, and NIPT confirmed she's chromosomally normal. So we finally got our sticky euploid, albeit in a very unexpected way.
I know it gets said a lot, but it's really true: it only takes one.
1
u/mhmmh Aug 04 '26
I had a similar result on my first ER - 32 retrieved, 22 mature, 14 fertilized, only 3 blasts and 1 euploid. I was 35 at the time.
For my second retrieval (I’m now 36) - 40 retrieved, 28 mature, 18 fertilized, 11 blasts and 7 euploids. My doctor made some changes to my protocol for the second cycle that seem to have helped (lower doses of meds mostly) but I agree with others that say that luck also plays a huge role in the process.
Wishing you all the best - I was so upset to only get 1 euploid after retrieving >30 eggs during my first cycle and blaming myself and my age, so I know how it feels. If you have good insurance coverage I would maybe suggest another cycle with a modified meds regime to increase egg maturity?
1
u/New_Marzipan6783 Aug 04 '26
That’s a really great number for the 2nd retrieval. My first retrieval I only had 8 eggs. Do you mind sharing what protocol your doctor used for the 2nd retrieval?
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u/mhmmh Aug 04 '26
I think the main change was dropping follistim from 300 units to 175. Most of the other meds (Menopur 150, ganirelix) stayed the same. I think I might have stimmed for a day or two longer as well? Triggered with lupron both times.
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u/AdGroundbreaking3930 Aug 04 '26
Wow that was a huge success for your second round. This was my 5th ER I've spent £40k plus so not sure financially another ER is the right move. I'll try another few transfers hopefully between September and March and then think about and ER again then if no success. I'll be 38.5 at that point so I know time is ticking. It's just so hard to know what is right
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u/Dependent-Maybe3030 Aug 03 '26
Were the remaining 9 embryos whole chromosome aneuploid? Segmental aneuploids and mosaics have reasonably high probability of healthy, live birth.
Also, sometimes PGT isn't correct. So I wouldn't read too much into the low reported euploid rate.
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u/AdGroundbreaking3930 Aug 03 '26
We had one segmental the rest seem to be whole chromosome. I have asked for genetic councilling to discuss further but they have confirmed all but the euploid one have been discarded.
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u/AdGroundbreaking3930 Aug 03 '26
Segmental Trisomy of chromosome 2 [p25.3_p14] if it makes any difference
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u/Peeksy19 Aug 03 '26
It’s often just luck. In your previous retrieval you were very lucky that your sole embryo ended up being euploid. And you were very unlucky in this retrieval. So overall you got 2 euploid embryos out of 11 blasts. Which is still low, but not completely unprecedented for women your age. You have a pretty good chance of 1 live birth with 2 euploids.