Delayed Frozen Embryo Transfer

by Shivani Sachdev Founder & Director

An embryo is a female egg fertilized by a sperm, and embryos yielded in IVF can be either one of the following:

Fresh-cycle embryo transfer: The embryos transferred back into the woman’s uterus during the same ovulation cycle in which her eggs were retrieved and fertilized, it happen generally five days after fertilization.

Delayed or frozen embryo transfer: The embryos can be frozen, with their transfer and implantation further in the future. 

Delayed embryo transfer is an alternative during in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedure in which the women's fertilized embryos are frozen for future transfer to the uterus. It becomes more common as embryos become considerably improved by freezing of, including the vitrification process. For further potential use, delayed embryo transfer often involves freezing all embryos created in an IVF cycle, which is commonly referred to as a freeze all IVF cycle. Few years ago, delaying embryo transfer until a time when the patient had started a natural ovulation cycle was not considered a viable option because the freezing process for embryos resulted in high rates of embryo loss and less viable embryos. But after many improvements in the vitrification, which is a flash-freezing technology and cryopreservation (storing and freezing) process, frozen embryo success rates and survival are now reached nearly equal to same fresh embryos.

Benefits of delayed frozen embryo transfer

Delayed frozen embryo transfer technique also called the freeze all technique, in which a patient freezes all embryos produced during the first cycle of IVF, has many benefits, including:

·         Allow the uterus environment to return to their normal conditions after IVF medication, providing natural embryo implantation conditions.

·         It considerably reduced the risks of pregnancy of fresh embryo transfer IVF cycles, such as low birth weight, preterm labor and preeclampsia.

·         It greatly increasing the chances of successful pregnancy which ultimately results in healthy birth and also allows for genetic screening.

·         Conserve all viable embryos through embryo freezing technique to facilitate selection of single embryo transfer and thus greatly reduce the possibility of multiple pregnancies of twins or more and the associated health risks.

·         Eliminate or control the risk of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) during the transfer cycle. It is a potential risk during fresh-cycle embryo transfers.

·         It is recommended for multiple transfers than repeated fresh IVF cycles for it's cost effectiveness.

Risks of delayed frozen embryo transfer

As compared with a fresh-cycle IVF, IVF with delayed frozen embryo transfer may associate the below risks:

·         Side effects caused due to fertility drugs

·         Egg retrieval risks such as, ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome

·         Discomfort, cramps or spotting from embryo transfer

·         Multiple pregnancy may happen if more than one embryo is implanted

During thawing or embryo freezing, there is also a potential risk that an embryo will be damaged and need to be thrown away.

You may contact Dr Shivani Sachdev Gour for your all questions related to Delayed Frozen Embryo Transfer. She is recognized as one of the best gynecologists and infertility specialist based in Delhi. 

Sponsor Ads

• Ad Space Available - Rent it Now!

Created on Mar 27th 2019 11:03. Viewed 715 times.

Comments