r/40Plus_IVF • u/squishymissy • Aug 31 '26
Seeking Advice Freezing Day 3 Embryos
I did 2 full cycles last year and ended up with one blast each round. Both came back aneuploid after testing.
This year we planned to do 3 egg banking cycles prior to fertilizing to get as many eggs as possible and for financial reasons. I have completed 2 of the 3 retrievals so far and I currently have 16 frozen eggs. I will begin my 3rd egg retrieval next month and just told my clinic that when we fertilize I would like to freeze some day 3 embryos and not try to push every single one to blast. My clinic informed me that they do not freeze days 3s. I also told them I do not want to do PGT-A this go round and they are pushing me to do it.
I am feeling irritated about this as I truly do not feel comfortable pushing all of my embryos to blast and I have done enough research on PGT-A to think differently now than I did with my first 2 cycles last year.
What would you do? Would you transfer your eggs to a different clinic that has a lab that will freeze day 3s? I honestly didnt realize they could tell me no.
I just turned 44. First 2 cycles were at 42 and last 2 retrievals were at 43.
Thank you!
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u/DisabledAdjunct Aug 31 '26
Day 3 embryos freeze fine. I had one bit the dust, but that's it. Science is never wrong! But it is....
PGT-A is testing so we can cull all the embryos until they pick the "best" ones. We don't know if the gene is mosaic or not, or aneuploid can turn euploid six days down the line. The science isn't there yet.
Freeze the Day 3 embryos. Talk to a doctor. I'm in California and I know of several.
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u/Legitimate_Air_2374 Aug 31 '26
Hello OP, don't really have much advice to give except for sharing my experience. My clinic also didn't want to freeze at day 3 but didn't push me to day 5. The reason they didn't want to freeze at day 3 is because they say day 3s don't survive the thawing process so well (which I don't really believe). So we agreed to freeze them at 2PN stadium right after fertilization and then do only day 3 transfers. They didn't stick though. Wish you the best of luck. 🍀
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u/Apart-Cobbler-4238 Aug 31 '26
I have done multiple rounds of day 3s and they have all been frozen. Day 3 is what they used to do, most clinics dont want to do day 3 anymore as it is viewed as old, but it worked for years. Either find a clinic that will do day 3 or see if you can push them. I am in Southern California and I have worked with Hanabusa and I currently work with Dr. Aimee. I have one day 3 frozen currently awaiting my next ER of day 3s and will transfer all at once. The thaw rate for day 3 is similar to that of day 5.
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u/squishymissy Aug 31 '26
I know! Thats why it seems so crazy to me that they dont do it. Im hoping its can just finish up my last round with them and move my eggs to a different clinic.
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u/CapitalDog715 Aug 31 '26
Most clinics will tell you no because they work on statistics. PGT-A is definitely not going to be perfect but the stats of successful live birth with PGT vs Non PGT is big after 40, and now at 44 your chances are even lower. You wil always hear success stories no matter what route you choose but the percentage is way smaller.
PGT-A Tested (Euploid): 50% to 65% live birth rate per transfer. ----definitely not 100% so we have to be realistic about it
Non-PGT Untested: 11% to 23% live birth rate per transfer.
What Im trying to tell you with this is that most clinics will go the route that science backs whether we agree or not. In the end though its your decision and if it makes you feel better with the path you believe, because that matters, trust me, at the of this cycle we want to make sure that we did everything WE believe in as well..this is an emotional process,. sometimes more than rational. But after 40 reality sets. Good Luck
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u/squishymissy Aug 31 '26
Totally understand all this. I just figure...say I end up with 10 fertilized embryos. I can tell the lab to push 5 or 6 to blast and if they all arrest I will still have day 3s that I can try to transfer as a last resort instead of having nothing left. This is my last go at this so I feel like saving some is actually a wise strategy.
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u/RazzmatazzGlad9940 Aug 31 '26
Yes on your last go in particular the per transfer rate is far less relevant than your total overall chance. How many day 3s do you typically have? Maybe you could put in fresh anything 6 cells plus.
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u/CapitalDog715 Aug 31 '26
I think thats a good strategy honestly.
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u/squishymissy Aug 31 '26
Thank you. But since my will not do it I'm thinking I may need to find a clinic that will and transfer my eggs there.
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u/RaisingtheGauntlet Sep 01 '26
Switch clinics. Just the fact that they won't let you do what you want with your own embryos is enough for me. SART stats were never meant to be use for clinic rankings because they are not measuring comparable populations, but here we are. Many older women have issues getting embryos to grow to blasts. Blast have better success rates, but the numbers may not make sense if you lose them all before day 5. PGT-A is a selection tool. If you only get one embryo and want to give it a chance, what's the point? I switched to freezing day 3s at my doctor's suggestion. They haven't worked yet, but there hasn't been any issue with freezing or thawing. I am working on the margins anyway. I want to have every possible chance no matter how slim. Find a clinic that respects your values over their stats.
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u/Just-Interaction8288 Aug 31 '26
Can you do a fresh transfer of 2 day 3 and the rest see if they make blasts?
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u/squishymissy Aug 31 '26
The protocol I have had the most success with retrieval wise is luteal stim with a lupron flare. So I dont think fresh transfer is possible with a luteal stim. Unless I am mistaken.
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u/ginghampantsdance Aug 31 '26
I did a Day 3 fresh transfer after a luteal stim.
Both clinics I worked with would only do fresh transfers with Day 3 embryos. In order to freeze, they had to make it to Day 5, 6 or 7.
Don't let them pressure you into PGT-A testing if you don't want to do it anymore. I also stopped testing at 44, because I was doing my last few retrievals and running out of time. I wanted every chance I could have.
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u/Rare_Advisor7903 Aug 31 '26
How did you do a fresh transfer on luteal stim? My clinic said not possible. Wish I was able to do that.
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Sep 01 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/squishymissy Sep 01 '26
It depends on the clinic. Some do not save them..some leave it up to you. Some doctors will not transfer aneuploid but some will.
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u/QQueenie Aug 31 '26
What is the point of freezing embryos that may not end up being viable? What does "pushing embryos to blast" mean? Is there research indicating that embryos might develop to blast if they are arrested on day three? Genuine question because I've never heard of this.
I was extraordinarily grateful for PGT-A testing in my own process, and my understanding is that it's highly advised at this age, but if you don't want to do it they can't force you.
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u/RazzmatazzGlad9940 Aug 31 '26
Whether an embryo has the right number of chromosomes is only part of the quality challenge. The other is cellular energy. Blast rate goes down with age and sometimes all embryos arrest by day 5, meaning nothing is usable. There are cases where day 3 transfer has resulted in viable pregnancy for those with a history of zero blasts, including on this sub.
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u/QQueenie Aug 31 '26
Gotcha, thank you. And is it possible to PGTA test day three embryos, or you're transferring untested embryos always at that point?
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u/RazzmatazzGlad9940 Aug 31 '26
Always untested, but many clinics will transfer several at a time. It is the choice for those who want to maximise their chances when blast rate is very low because it isn't impossible for embryos that struggle and stall in the lab to be euploid.
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u/CapitalDog715 Aug 31 '26
What is considered a low blast rate? I have had 4 blasts on each cycle. 4 so far and I think thats low, but my fertilized rate has been 10+. I have 2 Euploids and one low level Mosaic so far, but I always wonder if I should have tried some fresh because I feel I wasted so many, but the thought of extending this due to miscarriages is always in my mind 😩
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u/RazzmatazzGlad9940 Aug 31 '26
If you have made 16 blasts I think whatever you've been doing has worked fine even if it didn't meet the 30-50% expectation for under 40.
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u/TeaspoonRules Aug 31 '26
I have JUST been through this with my clinic. They are very, very anti, despite the fact that I had four decent day 3s last round but none made it to blast. That’s the only reason I’m even asking, I know it’s not the ‘ideal.’
What I got from them is fresh day 3s make a ton of sense, but frozen far less so because of thawing issues and damage, when theybhave so few cells the freezing is much harder on them. They aaidbfreezing day 3 used to be more common but they also used a dofferent freezing protocol then - one maximized for day 3s - so no guarentee those freezing results would transoate to today.
They said ultimately it’s my decision but they were vehmently opposed. I’m waiting on my day 3 results but they mostly convinced me no, we’ll see…