Immune Testing?

[Anonymous]

Hi--

I've posted before. I am 32, have a 2 year old son through my 1st round of IVF, and have done 2 fresh IVF and 1 frozen since his birth with no success (not even chemical). The doctors thinks we have either a genetic issue or an egg quality issue. My FSH is 3.2, but my AMH is 1.1, so I have been diagnosed with diminished ovarian reserve. My husband has low morphology.

I'm trying to decide what to do next. My current RE (Dr. Gordon at Dominon Fertility) suggests that I go to RMA in NJ and have genetic testing done on the embryos (PGD or CGH).

I'm wondering whether there might be other issues that may be impacting our success, such as immune issues. My understanding is that RMA does not do this testing. We have Aetna insurance and 2 more rounds of IVF covered, so would like to use a clinic that uses Aetna. The only clinics that do immune testing that I am aware of are CCRM and SIRM. SIRM takes Aetna, so I am tempted to go there, but there statistics are too great and I don't know whether they are a reputable clinic. I've only heard that Cornell and CCRM are the last stop for folks with repeated IVF failure.

Help please! Any one know anything about SIRM? Immune testing?

Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Do it!! I know multiple people who have had fantastic success at SIRM with their immune testing. One of my friends did the immune testing for Endo and the other was seen for NKC. They were both seen in Jersey.

HTH

[Anonymous]

SIRM is one of the oldest and most reputable clinics in the country and they treat a lot of very difficult cases, which is something to keep in mind when looking at stats. That said, I believe their NYC office had comparable or better success rates than Cornell in 2008. They also use vitrification, which Cornell does not. I'm in the process of cycling there currently and would recommend Dr. Tortoriello without hesitation.

You're very lucky that SIRM takes your insurance. We are self-pay, but sacrificed going to other clinics where I could have gotten coverage because I wanted and needed the immune testing, the CGH, and SIRM's expertise.

[Anonymous]

Have you and your husband been karyotyped yet? That would be my first step before going to PGD or CGH to see if there is something specific to look for.

[Anonymous]

Are you also a poor responder? If so, I'd hesitate jumping into PGD (limited # of embryos to work with).

If I were you I'd do consult with Cornell & SIRM. Maybe even go through immune testing at SIRM if they recommend it (warning - it probably won't be covered by insurance). Then decide next steps.

[Anonymous]

I cycled at SIRM in Jan 2010 and now have a DD. I can't say enough good things about them. Not only are they a reputable clinic - they are one of the best in the country. Look at their success rates for AMA patients and realize that they deal with the women that have failed at other clinics and came there as a last resort. I am one of them and had success on my first cycle there.