What are our chances and when do we start with QFG?

[middymum]

I am 26 and my partner is 29. We each have a child from a previous marriage and have always wanted one together. DH has just had surgery for testicular cancer after rushing to see FS @ QFG and only getting 7 vials frozen (Is this ok/good/great??) before this and he is set to start chemo soon. The count from the 7 vials was really very low with very low motility so have been advised we need ICSI.

What are we in for? I understand I'll need EPU and then what? Do they transfer embryo soon after that, or do we freeze them for later, and if so do they go in frozen??

ANY reply would be appreciated! Thankyou

[ZigZag]

Hi Middymum,
Sorry to hear about your partner's diagnosis. I hope he makes a full recovery.
I can't really help with the process of already frozen sperm but have just completed my first full IVF/ICSI cycle so hopefully what I know can help you.

As your partner has already got frozen sperm, I'm not sure what is done here in terms of when they thaw some for fertilisation. My husband's sperm was collected on the day of EPU to be fertilised through ICSI later that day. So imagine if you were wanting to do a fresh transfer, they would thaw some of his the same day.

As for what happens after EPU, if you wanted it / have no health problems / and of course you get suitable embyros, you can have a fresh transfer 3 to 5/6 days later depending what your clinic does or advises. I had a 3 day transfer as my embryos weren't looking very good. A 5 day transfer is generally what most clinics aim for. With our clinic, any that don't get transferred at day 3 are continued to grow until day 5 and those that survive to day 5, are frozen. Of course if you've had a day 5 transfer, then any remaining that are suitable for freezing, are frozen that day. If you get the opportunity to freeze an embryo(s), they thaw them first before transferring them back. I'm not 100% sure, but imagine the thaw / transfer is done on the same day. We got nothing to freeze this cycle, so will have to do another stimulated cycle (i.e. full IVF/ICSI cycle). The transfer itself is not under any anesthetic (well wasn't for me) and only takes about 5 minutes.

All the best. Take care of yourselves.

Cheers
Zig.

[middymum]

Thanks Zig

We are going for another analysis in the morning. One specialist has said the count will go up after the surgery and the other FS has said it would def not go up

Im guessing its better to do an EPU and use a fresh one after a few days, I just dont know if we're ready to start that yet as we have the chemo and stuff to get through first. So so so much to figure out and the last thing we need around here is a crazy headless hormonal basket case

I spoke with the scientist at QFG and she said we have 7 vials so 7 rounds, but if one freeze gets defroseted and we get no eggies to embryos or they fail we run out of goes pretty quick I guess. Thank God we have 7 vials, it is truly better than none!

Thanks again

[Dreams into Reality]

Hello Middymum,
Sorry to hear about your DH!
7 vials should hopefully give you a good chance and with ICSI they select all the healthy and normal sprem and inject it straight into the egg, so there are better chances of Embryos forming. I think you are in great hands with team at QFG.
I wish you all the best of luck for the future with everything!

Ziggy, it's good to hear about it from someone who has gone through it, rather than just reading all the material and talking about to the nurses, yet you went through it first hand and are able to tell people how it was for you in reality.

My DH and I are will be undergoing ICSI IVF in a couple of months at QFG and I have found them to be very informative and it's like they know you on a personal level.