A look at Dr. Shapiro’s presentation at Best of ESHRE and ASRM
Bruce Shapiro MD is world-renowned for his expertise in the field of reproductive medicine. Our Las Vegas fertility doctor recently had the great honor of speaking at Best of ESHRE and ASRM in New York City. During his talk, Dr. Shapiro discussed frozen embryo transfer and how freeze only cycles improve IVF success rates. His presentation was so well-received that he immediately received an invitation to speak at another international conference.
Best of ESHRE and ASRM is a biennial meeting of both the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) and the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM). This meeting only features invited speakers who are recognized experts among their peers in reproductive medicine.
Dr. Shapiro’s talk at Best of ESHRE and ASRM
During Best of ESHRE and ASRM, our Las Vegas fertility doctor discussed freezing all embryos in an IVF cycle. The goal of freeze all cycles is to transfer these embryos to a very carefully prepared uterine environment during a later cycle.
In the past, transferring fresh embryos was the standard for IVF. However, fresh embryo transfer is now obsolete. Today, more fertility doctors accept that ovarian stimulation for IVF drastically alters the levels of hormones that control the uterine environment. This means that the uterus will often not be receptive when fresh embryos are ready for transfer.
If a fertility doctor transfers a fresh embryo, it is less likely to implant and result in a live birth because ovarian stimulation medications affect the uterine lining. Additionally, fresh embryos that do implant tend to be a little smaller at birth than their counterparts from natural conception or a frozen embryo transfer.
Freeze all cycles are becoming the new standard
Most IVF cycles in the United States are now followed by freezing all the embryos, most commonly known as a freeze all or freeze only cycle. As a result, national average IVF success rates with thawed embryos are greater than those with fresh transfers. This is true in every age group, but most particularly in older patients. The resulting infants are also closer to the birth weight of babies born from natural conception.
Our Las Vegas fertility doctor, Dr. Bruce Shapiro, and The Fertility Center of Las Vegas (FCLV) pioneered the freeze-all strategy more than a decade ago. We also published some of the first clinical trials showing some of the benefits of embryo freezing.
Contact us to schedule an appointment and learn more about the value of embryo freezing as part of IVF. The FCLV doctors are pioneers in fertility care and freeze only cycles.
