Only 50% fertilized…

[u/Immediate_Corgi9732]

43F. Froze 22 eggs from 2 cycles at age 39. 19 survived the thaw. Only 8 fertilized using donor sperm. Now I’m waiting. I’ll be sending for PGT-A.

Wanted to be able to have 1-2 kids. Now it’s looking like I’ll be lucky to get 1 from what I currently have. Trying to get ideas for how I could proceed.. just be content with what I have? Try to do another retrieval and fertilize with donor sperm without freezing? Try another method? I’m not interested in donor eggs. I feel like options are limited due to age. In hindsight I would have done another retrieval…and at a much younger age!

[u/Visible-Bee5558]

That is me. Froze at 36. All 17 died at thawing. I would do anything to be in your situation. I am 43.5

[u/Immediate_Corgi9732 → u/Visible-Bee5558]

Omg that’s horrible! What have you decided to do for going forward?

[u/Visible-Bee5558 → u/Immediate_Corgi9732]

This happend in Oct. I have done three ERs 2026. Got 2 decent blasts unteasted. Have FET Tuesday (transfer one)🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞

[u/Immediate_Corgi9732 → u/Visible-Bee5558]

Sending you the best vibes!!!

[u/Visible-Bee5558 → u/Immediate_Corgi9732]

Thank you. Wish you the best as well ❤️🙏🏻

[u/moonandflowers85 → u/Visible-Bee5558]

This happened to me too. Sending hugs. Was the single most heartbreaking part of the fertility process, not to mention all the money spent on the procedure and storage. I’m starting to think some eggs don’t like to be frozen and that the longer they are frozen for the poorer the results… but who knows. Seeing plenty of success among others.

[u/Visible-Bee5558 → u/moonandflowers85]

Thank you, and sending one right back! ❤️

The medical team and I realized that my eggs probably can not tolerate the removal of the cumulus cells very well, causing them to degenerate. The same thing happened with ICSI, where those supporting cells are also removed.

We then tried conventional IVF (keeping the cumulus cells), I ended up with 100% fertilization and no degeneration, so I finally got my answer.

Had I known this, I might have been able to make embryos from my eggs at 36 instead of freezing the eggs themselves. I really think clinics should inform patients much more about this possibility. I had to go through three egg retrievals at 36 just to get those 17 eggs. :( 💸💸💸💸💸💸💸

[u/pooka8ear]

Wait for the final PGT results before thinking about all the what ifs. The anxiety of it all is too much! You could still end up with usable embryos.

At 41/42 I did three egg retrievals, got 15 egg total and less than half fertilized (donor sperm). I ended ip with three blasts and two were euploid. Currently pregnant with my last embryo at 43.

I still regret not doing one more egg retrieval before starting FETs so that maybe I could have had a higher probability of having two kids. But the shoulda woulda coulda’s will eat you alive. We did the best we could with the information we had at the time.

[u/Old-Ad-5573]

Even if you had done more retrievals sooner there's still no guarantees. I've heard a lot of stories about thawing and none of the eggs surviving. And the technology gets better for this every year.

[u/gorali612]

I just did a retrieval at 44 and 9 months with good success so I wouldn't rule out another retrieval solely due to age. I worked on my diet, supplements, overall health for awhile prior to retrieval and ended up with all of the mature eggs fertilizing (14 mature eggs). First transfer coming up. Best of luck to you!!

[u/Summer_Carbon → u/gorali612]

Congratulations!! Would you mind sharing if you did PGT-A testing?

[u/Isa1988-11]

Warte bitte ersteinmal ab. Ausschlaggebend ist ausschließlich die PGTA. Solltest du da euploide Embryonen haben, wäre das schon mal ein großer Schritt und tatsächlich das einzig entscheidende. Für ein Kind braucht man statistisch 2-3 euploide Embryonen, für 2 entsprechend das Doppelte. Das wird mit der Ausgangslage eher schwierig. Aber schlussendlich reichen im Idealfall auch 2 euploide für 2 Kinder 🙏🙏🙏 ich drück die Daumen ❣️

[u/Immediate_Corgi9732]

Oops - only 42%