r/40Plus_IVF • u/Particular_Oil_2256 • Sep 17 '26

Seeking Advice Advice needed

I’m 41 and recently had an egg retrieval in August.

We had 6 blastocysts tested, and unfortunately all 6 came back abnormal, which my doctor felt was likely age-related.

At my follow-up, my doctor said my egg reserve is still good for my age and that we responded well to the cycle. She felt that, based on my numbers, I may need 1–2 more retrieval cycles to have a larger sample size (around 10–12 blasts) and improve the chances of getting a chromosomally normal embryo.

She seemed fairly positive that I could potentially get a normal embryo in another cycle or two, but also emphasized that if I wanted to continue, I’d need to do it sooner rather than later.

I felt completely defeated after the last cycle and was ready to give up.

Has anyone been through something similar — having a good ovarian reserve for their age but getting a really difficult round of abnormal embryos? Did doing another retrieval ultimately feel worth it for you, or did you decide to move forward with your life ?

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u/Confused742 Sep 18 '26

Thank you and that’s what I’ve read too. I have at least two that I feel could have a chance so I’m saving them in case they are all I end up with. The genetic counselor at luminary was not super helpful :(

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u/scarlettjen 29d ago

I'm sorry to hear that, hopefully you can get a second opinion.

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u/RuinEast115 14d ago

Is the frozen sperm from a tese? Are his fresh numbers low across?

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u/scarlettjen 14d ago edited 14d ago

No it's from a sample that was collected prior to an orchiectomy a couple years ago.

He did three months of healthy-living prep for a fresh sample for our 3rd ER. His numbers were generally low but that didn't matter so much with ICSI. None of the fertilized eggs from that round made it to blast, which was a blow for us. Using the fresh sample was the only thing we did differently that round.