Embryonic Arrest

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There r a number of threads related to this issue. It happened to me on multiple rounds. DH has severe MF and I thought it might be the cause, but it wasn’t. Unless you have major dna fragmentation or zero sperm, MF isn’t likely the problem. Egg quality is a bigger issue. The stim meds can make a difference too. Higher doses of menopure seem not to work well for some. Unfortunately, there isn’t much data to show what the actual issue is. For me, the docs used lots of meds to get higher numbers of eggs saying it’s a numbers game so more is better. Then I switched and did a round with less meds and while I got fewer eggs I got a high percentage of blasts. Maybe it was a fluke, but it was my 6th round and totally opposite of how the prior rounds went.

My do had had good dna frag and no issues with sperm and donor eggs still wouldn’t go to blast. There are other male factors aside from that, but hard to dig into.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There r a number of threads related to this issue. It happened to me on multiple rounds. DH has severe MF and I thought it might be the cause, but it wasn’t. Unless you have major dna fragmentation or zero sperm, MF isn’t likely the problem. Egg quality is a bigger issue. The stim meds can make a difference too. Higher doses of menopure seem not to work well for some. Unfortunately, there isn’t much data to show what the actual issue is. For me, the docs used lots of meds to get higher numbers of eggs saying it’s a numbers game so more is better. Then I switched and did a round with less meds and while I got fewer eggs I got a high percentage of blasts. Maybe it was a fluke, but it was my 6th round and totally opposite of how the prior rounds went.

My do had had good dna frag and no issues with sperm and donor eggs still wouldn’t go to blast. There are other male factors aside from that, but hard to dig into.

Sorry to hear that. Was it a proven donor in her 20s with fresh eggs and ICSI? Docs recommended against frozen eggs for us (likely egg issues but have MF) as they tend to be less successful. I have also been surprised that some places allow older donors who don’t have great numbers. Banks and agencies, didn’t find that with the clinics specifically.

[Anonymous]

Yes, I have had many cycles with this (I was originally at SG). My embryos simply don't grow to blast in the lab, so once my protocol changed (I had to ultimately transfer to Cornell for that to happen), I started transferring early and got pregnant every time. If you're interested, I can elaborate on this. I did have some miscarriages along the way so there is something to be said for a larger underlying issue, but you can work around it if you are willing to. I have one 2 year old from this new protocol and another on the way, halfway through the pregnancy.