Advice needed on Embryo Development and transfers.....

Hi All,

I know there are some very experienced IVFers here so I am hoping you might be able to help me with some information and advice.... I never thought I would forget all the crucial information - but it has been almost 2 years since my last IVF cycle - which resulted in identical twins (who are now 1).

I desperately want to support my best friend who is currently in the middle of her first IVF cycle. To do that I want to make sure I have all of my information and facts right, so that I can be the friend that she needs and deserves as she faces obstacles I remember personally feeling were insurmountable.

She has recently undergone egg collection and after having 3 eggs collected, now has one embryo that is day 5 today and is currently called a 'morula'. Her clinic (which is different to the one I went to) has a policy of only putting back Blastocysts.

They have called her this morning and said they want to give her blastie an extra day - til tomorrow which will be day 6, to give it a chance to reach 16 cells and become a blastocyst

My first question is - is an embryo only considered a blastie when it is 16 cells? (I don't remember my FS ever talking about how many cells were in a blastie).

Her embryologist has said that if it is still a morula tomorrow - "there is no point in putting it back as there is zero chance that it will become a viable pregnancy"? My FS and embryologist never said there was a zero percent chance about anything.... And from memory I thought you could put an embie back at morula stage and it still had a chance of becoming a viable pregnancy?

Any information, personal experiences or knowledge you have would be so much appreciated! She is upset and worried that she will have nothing left tomorrow and that they will refuse to put the embie back.

Obviously I know that they are the experts etc but I am just surprised that given she only had one embie they are not more willing to transfer? Her preference would have been to transfer the morula today on day 5. Has anyone ever had a morula transferred? Can you transfer at the morula stage? And one step further - has anyone ever heard of a successful pregnancy resulting from a morula transfer?

It's a shame that her clinic only does day 5 transfers - especially when she only has one embie?

Thanks so much in advance ladies! X

No real scientific advice but I had a morula and a compacting morula transfered on day 5. They assured me that they had a chance...
My cycle didn't work but I do remember finding other stories similar to mine that were successful.

I'm another who had a morula transferred on day 5 and it was unsuccessful for us. We only had that transferred as it was the only surviving/ dividing embryo that cycle. I hope that the extra days helps it continue to divide and she gets a happy ending :)

Hi sweetheart. You're such a gem for seeking information for your friend! Last year we had a fresh cycle and I only had 3 or 4 embryos from memory, and we decided to grow them to day 5 in that cycle. In the end we had one embryo which made it to day 5, but instead of it being a blastie, it was a compacting morula. They weren't 100% happy with it as it was slightly lagging behind, but it was good enough to put inside. Unfortunately this cycle didn't result in a pg for us. We were later told the grade was a D I think, so it was a pretty poor grade to begin with. From my understanding, an embryo that is lagging behind has a lesser chance of a viable pg but not always. I really hope your friend's embie goes the distance, my FS always says, better for an ambie to be inside than outside.

I had 2 that were morulas on d5 but became blasts by day 6, they were both failed fets. I tend to agree with the clinic, if it hasn't progressed I would write it off and move on (sorry if that sounds harsh) but it's just wasting your friends time.
She will be devastated but can get on with another cycle.
I know what you mean about forgetting all the details too, I think we blank most of it out it's so stressful!
I'm typing on my phone with 1 finger so I don't mean for this post to sound so blunt, just can't manage a long details post xx

Double post

Oh Saffy congratulations on your little girl!! I'm so thrilled you got your bfp! And Miss B thank you for finding me:)

So her clinic have called this morning and say she has a lovely blastie - today is Day 6! The embie was a morula yesterday with 10 - 12 cells, so it's a little bit slow - but it did it's job overnight and she has a fresh transfer this afternoon, unfortunately nothing to freeze:(

I am not sure on it's quality - I don't believe they have told her anything other than it's "lovely". She is so excited, and it might as well be my embie because I am that EXCITED for her:)

Fingers crossed now ladies... I'm urging her to join the 2ww on BB. I'm so hopeful it will work.... But if it doesn't she will need to do another fresh stim cycle and I think the support in here would be great for her so she can learn more about IVF and the different ways of going about it.

Fingers crossed it's a sticky one! Does anyone know the success rates on a day 6 blastie? Is it considered to be 'behind' because it's a day 6? Xx

Good luck for your friend. In my experience if the clinic is willing to transfer then she is in with a chance. The embryologist would recommend against if they thought the embie was too far behind. A morala is the stage before blastocyst normally classified as 32 cells. Most of my embies were a little slow and for FETs I always normally ended up with a day 5.5 or day 6 transfer if that makes sense. I have had two pregnancies (1 mc, 1 my 1 year old) from FETs with embies that were after day 5. Fingers crossed.

And hope you are coping ok with your twins x

Hey Baby Dreamtime!! I'm managing ok with the twinnies thanks for asking! It's been a hard first year - but with wonderful support and an amazing au pair - we have turned the corner (I hope!) :)

Interestingly my friends Dr says that her chance of conceiving using her blastie on day 6 is 20 per cent - down from 45 per cent if she had have had a day 5 blastie put back?

I just have everything crossed for her! She just really deserves for this to work after everything she has been through!

Thanks for your advice and congrats on your beautiful babies! How old are your twins now?

Xx