Day 3 vs. Day 5 transfer

[Anonymous]

Has anyone seen any good, reliable stats on Day 3 vs. Day 5 transfers? Shady Grove has told us that their stats are not statistically different...Dr. D. at Dominion told us that there is definitely a better chance of pregnancy with a Day 5...and I was just reading the other day about a lab (I think in NJ?) that ONLY does Day 5 transfers (citing that it's no use to hurry to get them back into the uterus at Day 3 if they haven't proven they are viable.) Thoughts?

[Anonymous]

My doc wanted to transfer at 3 days (we had three embryos), and when I told him I only wanted to put one in (I did NOT want twins), he said to wait until 5 to see which looked the strongest for the best chance at success. There isn't than much reason not to wait - perhaps just that they generally do better in the womb IF they are going to be viable. Just harder to tell how viable they are at day 3. I have one healthy 5 month old, fyi.

[Anonymous]

5 days transfers are much more successful. I have done several IVF both fresh cycles and frozen cycles, both 3 days and 5 days.
5 day transfers allow the embryo to grow and mature more outside of the body and when they are put back after 5 days they have more
of a chance of survival and sticking. I'd recommend 5 day transfer.

[Anonymous]

you never know.... i had m/c with 5dt and went on to have healthy baby with 3dt

[Anonymous]

I had always heard that Day 5 had a better chance. However, that doesn't mean a Day 3 won't work. I had three on Day 3, put back two, and have one healthy boy as a result.

[Anonymous]

when you have a 5 day transfer, it just weeds out most of the bad eggs. Most strong viable embryos are able to grow to 5 dayers.

[Anonymous]

FWIW, when we did our cycle three years ago, SG was hyping how great their 5-day blast transfers were, gave us lots of supporting literature, etc., so I was very disappointed when the Dr. came back to us after retrieval and said she'd recommend we do a 3dt. I swore the cycle was a failure, especially when none of our remaining embryos survived to the blast/freezing stage a few days later. Happily, one of the two embryos we did transfer at 3d stuck, and we have a very healthy 2-year-old!

My point is, try not to stress about it - in all likelihood, you may not have a choice, and will have to trust your embryologist/Dr. to help you make the right call...

[Anonymous]

I agree with the PP, chances are you won't have a choice -- you may not have enough embryos to go to day 5 and if you do, your doctor will likely have a strong recommendation. One thing to keep in mind is that growing the embryos from day 3 to day 5 does not make them better, it just makes it easier to choose the strongest emrbyo if you have a lot of embryos to choose from.

I'm currently a patient at Cornell and they don't emphasize day 5 transfers nearly as much as other clinics, and they have some of the best stats in the country (and take some of the most difficult cases).

[Anonymous]

I only had two embryos under consideration. At day 3, I was given the choice to transfer them both (we were given a less than 50% chance that either would stick), or wait until day 5 (with the caveat that neither may make it to day 5). We decided to transfer them both on day 3 (my RE and embryologist concurred). I am now 19 weeks pregnant with twins. I understand the anxiety of wanting to have a day 5 transfer, but you really have to look at your own individual circumstances before making the decision. A lot of the decision-making is statistics, but emotions also run high.

[Anonymous]

If embryos make it to blasts then they are likely more viable and result in pregnancy. I had both day 3 and day 5 transfers and only the day 5 produced my DD and DS.

[Anonymous]

I had a chemical pregnancy from a 3 day transfer and BFP with my 5 day transfer. 5 day embryos are just stronger.

[Anonymous]

Cornell and CCRM both agree 5 day blasts are the way to go.

[Anonymous]

I have done 3 and 5 days transfers. BFNs for every 3 day transfer (4 transfers) and BFP for every 5 day (2 transfers).

Depending on the number of embryos you have on day 3 and their viability, SG will make the call on whether you should do a 3 or 5 day transfer. You always have the option to wait until day 5, however you run the risk that some or all of the embryos will not make it to day 5. Some women prefer to have them transfered on day 3 and wait until beta to see what happens and others are ok riding it out until day 5 knowing that they may have none to transfer, but if they do make it they are the strongest and likely to be most viable.

[Anonymous]

Personally I think it comes down to waiting to day 5 or transferring on day 3 and enduring the 2 ww. I'd rather know sooner than later if it was all a waste of time.