What do you do if your IVF cycle failed, even though high quality embryos were transferred into your uterus?
The first requirement for pregnancy success in IVF is to have a quality embryo. The second requirement is to have that embryo properly transferred into the uterus.
The third requirement is that the uterus must be receptive at the proper moment.
When implantation fails in a fresh cycle after a good quality embryo is transferred, the most likely culprit is a problem with the lining of the uterus. This lining is called the endometrium.
The embryo and endometrium must be synchronized in order for viable pregnancy to occur. Ovarian stimulation can disturb this synchrony. The endometrium can advance in a stimulated cycle so that an embryo may miss the endometrium’s advanced implantation window.
One potential treatment for this is to freeze embryos and transfer them in an unstimulated cycle when endometrial development can be controlled.
Of course this works best in a facility that has a good embryo cryopreservation program. At the Fertility Center of Las Vegas, we have a very successful embryo cryopreservation program with some of the highest success rates found anywhere. We have found this to be a very successful approach for patients who have had unsuccessful fresh transfer.
Bruce Shapiro M.D.,Ph.D.,HCLD