CCRM Denver - worth it?

[Anonymous]

I will spare you all my secondary infertility sob story. In a nutshell: I’m 39, have had repeat miscarriages with chromosomal issues, and a failed IVF cycle through a local clinic with 1 PGS tested embryo (all we got out of 8 blasts). We have a 7 year old kiddo who is the love of my life.

Had a phone consult with Schoolcraft... he said we could roll the dice and see if another cycle with my eggs produced any more PGS embryos, but due to my stats, the chances re low. Donor eggs are probably my best chance, but for several reasons, I don’t want to go down that route.

So, is CCRM worth it? Is there technology so good that maybe my eggs can’t work out?

Insurance will cover squat since we are out of network.

[Anonymous]

Have you done more than that one cycle of IVF so far? I used CCRM Denver years ago, before their national expansion. I was 40 1/2 when I started.

Schoolcraft tends to err on the side of pessimism. He consistently gave me odds that were lower than would be expected based on my test results and published studies by CCRM. When I asked why, he said it was because I had had two miscarriages and one disastrous IVF at SG prior to starting with him. I ended up producing multiple high quality CCS-normal blasts in my first cycle with him and in subsequent banking cycles. All my single embryo transfers with him were successful.

I will say that the problem with my first and only cycle at SG turned out to be medical misjudgment. After that, my first cycle at CCRM went very well and my second was disappointing, but the one viable embryo it produced got me an amazing son. The third CCRM cycle was better. Schoolcraft is of the belief that egg quality can vary widely from month to month, and there is data that suggests IVF is more successful in the summer, probably because of the solar effect on vitamin D.

I don't know whether CCRM is truly better, but if you have something other than age-related chromosomal issues going on, CCRM is likely to find it. They do more diagnostic testing than other clinics, especially if you push for it. Make sure you rule out things like uterine scarring from D&Cs, endometriosis, etc. If there are even the slightest signs of possible uterine issues, consider using a surrogate if you are able to make more embryos.

Also, you shouldn't draw conclusions either way from one bad IVF cycle. At 40, it is pretty normal to end up with one or two viable blasts from each cycle.

[Anonymous]

You'll never really know. If CCRM Colorado isn't giving you a clear idea about what they'd do differently, I'm not sure I'd think it was worth it. The lab technologies aren't so different and if you got 8 blasts and a PGS normal, you know the lab was fine. The clinics here (SG, Dominion and the local CCRM) are all really good and I don't think anyone has significantly better lab technology - some docs just have more experience with certain issue. However, you can probably imagine how you'd feel if you didn't try them? If you'd regret not doing it, it may be worth it solely for that reason. I think Davis at Cornell is another good option that is probably easier from the DC area.