IVF doctor who does blastocyst transfer

I've just ended my 2nd cycle of IVF without success. DH and I are baffled as to why our 2nd IVF was not successful when 3 Grade 1- embryos were transfered. Our doctor himself was so confident after the transfer and even said in jest that we should be prepared for triplets! But alas, all these hopes came to nothing and we're back to square one. Till now, we're still wondering why our supposedly Grade -1 embryos did not implant well. I'm beginning to think there might be something wrong with my uterus. I asked my doctor today if I should consider a laparoscopy to determine if I have endometriosis. He does not think this is necessary since nothing showed up on my X-ray which he did several months back.

Does anyone have a similar experience of transferring relatively good embryos but with no success?

I am now considering blastocyst transfers in the near future. I hear there is a higher success rate.

Does anyone know of a good fertility doctor and lab in Hong Kong who does blastocyst transfers?

firstly, i am very sorry to hear about your negative ivf. there is nothing worse than getting that call from the lab, even if you've already done the HPT, and hearing the "i'm sorry, the beta test shows that you're not pregnant" call.


we used dr philip ho and transfered blastocysts. the lab he uses is the ivf centre at hk sanitorium, which is very highly regarded. the embryologists there are excellent. i have also heard dr milton leung does blast transfer.


there is an ongoing debate about blast (5d transfer) vs 3d transfer. the 3d camp argues that the embryo thrives best in its natural condition (ie: inside the womb), whereas the blastocyst camp says that by 5d, lots of natural selection has occurred, and the "good" embryos are very evident, and so drs generally put them back first.


because there is a dropoff rate between day three and five, drs are sometimes loathe to take you to blast transfer incase you get to day five and there are no blasts left.


did you have lots of good emrbyos (evenly dividing, clear looking) on day three? if you didnt, that might be why the dr didn't suggest a 5dt.


however, most fertility drs (i used two different clinics) mention blast transfer during the stim phase.


if you don't mind me asking - how many follicles did they collect on transfer day, how many fertilised, and how many were viable on day three, with both your ivf's?


i hope this helps.

Thank you abitnaive for your reply.


Yes, it was a huge disappointment especially when we waited out the 2 weeks with high hopes of a pregnancy.


On my collection day, they picked out 16 eggs; out of which 10 fertilised (5 eggs were not mature enough and 1 was not good). We were told this batch of embryos were good and our doctor transferred 3 grade 1- eggs which had cleaved and divided evenly into 8 parts.


I'm seeing Dr Derek Lo and he and his lab (Prolivfic) do not do believe nor do blast transfers at all. If I were to comtemplate this route, I'll have to change doctors.


I'm going to try 1 more cycle with Dr Lo where he highly recommended I go natural with no stimulation. When I'm close to ovulation, he will monitor me and pick out 1 good egg and transfer this together with 2 of my frozen embryos. I still have 7 frozen from 2nd IVF and 3 from the 1st IVF.


What are your thoughts on this?

Ezpz, I really feel for you.


I did 6 IUIs and 3 IVFs - all good embryos, all blastocyst, all failed. Once I moved to HK, I did acupuncture religiously because I only can blame my uterus for all the fail transplant. My acupuncture doc told me that I need to increase my energy in my womb and to balance the ying and yang (plainly speaking - better blood circulation and ticker uterus lining).

Then, after the doc gave a green light, I went to Milton Leong and had a successful IVF - although still with 3 grade 1 embryos, only one survived.

I can't tell if Milton Leong or the acupuncture doc or the combination of them gave me this wonderful result , anyhow I just feel so blessed.


Do you think you could try it as well?

i'm a bit confused as to why your dr would want to transfer one fresh embryo and two frozens.


the dr said the embryos were excellent quality, and from what i have heard, the lab has good results with FET. so why the need to do the natural IVF? if he doesn't have confidence in the frozens, why only transfer one fresh...and if he does have confidence in the frozens, why the need for a fresh? you have a total of 10 frozen embryos, yes? are they good quality?


i would ask the "why the need to add a fresh when there are so many frozens" questions if i were you. i am not an IF dr/expert, so there could be a very good answer to these questions. i hope i am not just raising more furstrations in your mind.


16 eggs on retrieval is very good, and 10 making it to day three is good. the three that were transferred, (eight cell) sound very very good. ask for a lab report on the quality of the embryos that were transferred. they will have that information.


btw - i also highly recommend acupuncture. i needed to strengthen my liver which therefore increased the bloodflow in my womb.


xo

Thanks Mita5chome for advice and congratulations on your successful IVF. It's very encouraging to hear success stories like yours.

Yes, I am seeing Troy Sing for regular acupuncture since last IVF cycle. In fact, I think it helped a lot which was why I had a lot more follicles and better quality eggs too. Who do you go to for acupuncture? Is this your 1st IVF with Milton Leong? What's he like and is it difficult to get an appointment?


Dear cbdc

Thanks so much too for your advice. You've got a point and I'm going to ask Derek Lo tomorrow when I see him. Frankly, I am quite reluctant to do a natural cycle just to pick out 1 good egg. Seems like a waste of time and money. Think you are right. I've got quite a storage of frozen embryos and perhaps this cycle, I should consider just FET. Fingers crossed but if it doesn't work, then maybe explore a natural cycle next time.

Hi Mita5chome,


Great to hear that you are successful with Milton Leung. As you mentioned you are doing accunputure in HK before seeing Dr Leung. May i ask how long you have prepared for it before the last successful IVF cycle? As i am thinking to take some rest if my 3d IVF cycle (now in 2ww) fails, and will go for accunpunture for a while first. I heard it is not easy to have grade 1 embryo in Santorium hospital. You can get 3 grade 1s, that's excellent.


By the way, how old are you?