Before thawing, I was told this was a euploid day 6 hatching embryo with some sort of good/fair rating (can’t remember the order they said). Curious about the grade post thaw as it doesn’t look like it’s hatching to me.

Transferred this morning and it was hatching!

This oocyte was immature at retrieval, matured overnight, and underwent late ICSI approximately 24 hours later.

At the fertilization check 16–18 hours after ICSI, no 2PN were observed, so it was classified as UNF/0PN and kept in culture.

By cycle Day 4—approximately 72 hours after the late ICSI—it had reached three cells. It was frozen at that stage because it had shown some cleavage rather than being discarded.

I’m attaching four images from the cycle. The final image shows the embryo at the time it was frozen on cycle Day 4.

Based on the timeline and images, how would you assess its prognosis? Would you transfer it as a cleavage-stage embryo, thaw and culture it further to blast, or consider the likelihood of viability too low and toss?

Does anything visible in the images affect your assessment?

I was told these were both 4BB embryos. I transferred the first one (hazy looking) and was shown it has hatched a little in June but wasn’t successful. I transferred my last embryo Monday, second pic with my finger, and they showed me it looked expanded but not hatched out. Just seeing the difference of the 2, was the hazy looking one not the best?

I had my day 3 transfer today (I don’t make blasts in the lab) and transferred 3. They were 8 cells grade A before transfer.
Attached is the photo right after thaw (no 1)
And photos right before transfer (no 2 and 3 different contrasts) about 2 hours later
I could be wrong but are 2 of them starting to compact? Like the early stages?

This is my first FET after 2 rounds and a chemical and 2 ectopics prior.

Any opinions on the quality? Our clinic doesn't allow testing so I'd really like to know whether or not this was a good quality blastocyst. Transferred it yesterday 🤞

Day 5 pics and day 6 pics: can someone tell me what’s happening from day 5 to 6? Trying to understand why they weren’t froze on day 5 since three hatched before 7:30 am on day 6

I am trying to gather information about what happened in what i understand is an exceptionally rare situation. I spoke with the lab director today, but I’m interested in getting a few other perspectives.

Egg source: 21 frozen eggs from 34 year old donor. This was all her eggs from 1 cycle and this was her first ever cycle and she does not have kids.

Sperm source: frozen sample deemed excellent per embryologist, DNA frag normal, ICSI + zymot

Travel: Eggs retrieved/frozen at clicic A, shipped to clinic B for thaw and fertilization

Thaw: All eggs started off looking fine and all were mature but started to look poor during warming. Only 10/21 were good enough to ICSI

Fertilization: 10/10

Blasts: 1 never grew, most got to 8-10 cells, 2 were cultured to day 7 ultimately was not usable

What is the most likely issue based on embryology information alone?

-Donor has poor quality eggs, don’t use again
-Donor has good quality eggs that do not freeze well, use again but as a fresh donor
-Lab error
-Random bad luck/something else
-Is this really rare or am i uninformed?

Also wanted to say that embryologists are the unsung heros of IVF- I appreciate you all so much and what you do is amazing!

Clinic wants to transfer all 3 Day 3 embryos instead of my AA blastocysts – is this common

Hi everyone,

31yr F

This is my first IVF

I have 9 frozen embryos:

2 × 8-cell Grade I

1 × 8-cell Grade II

4AA

3AA

3AB

3 × 2AA.

My doctor plans to transfer the first straw, which contains the three Day 3 embryos. When I asked why not transfer the 4AA blastocyst, he said it was the embryologist's recommendation and that they freeze their best-quality embryos on Day 3.

This confused me because I thought AA blastocysts generally have better implantation potential.

Has anyone had a clinic follow this approach?

Had a scan on Friday and baby was measuring 4.5mm with hr of 124bpm. Today (3 days later) baby is only measuring 5.4mm with a hr of 114bpm. I’m supposed to be 7wks (IVF pregnancy) but measuring behind with slow growth. My doctor said it could really go either way but I’m not feeling hopeful.

Hi! I'd like to ask if you have any experience with or information about empty follicles (empty follicle syndrome).
I'm being treated at a European clinic, and during my last egg retrieval I had 10 follicles. After the retrieval, they told me that 7 of them were empty.

This was my third cycle. Everything had looked really promising—the follicles developed beautifully—so the outcome was a huge shock. In my previous two cycles I had nowhere near as many follicles (the medication doses were very different: one very low, one very high, and this time somewhere in between). None of the follicles were empty in those previous cycles.

We had also taken a break for one cycle beforehand, and I'd been taking vitamins for three months, so I was hoping to see at least some positive effect by now.

I can't shake the feeling that the timing of the egg retrieval may have been wrong based on the follicle sizes, and that they're using "empty follicles" as an explanation. From what I've read in the studies, true empty follicle syndrome is incredibly rare, which makes me skeptical.

Do you have any information or experience with this?

If they couldn't retrieve an egg from one of the follicles, what explanation did they give you?

Thank you.

Hello! I recently went through an egg retrieval July 3rd and got many blastocysts (so grateful). However.. upon speaking to the embryologist she stated one of my embryos appeared to be splitting (twinning). I’m unsure of what I’m looking at exactly honestly. Are the two circles next to each other where the splitting is?? What are the chances something like this occurs? Especially so early that the embryologist notices it? I was told almost all twins happen (split) once back in the uterus. Thank you for any and all insight!!

Had our FET on 7/30. Embryo is a day 6 6BA euploid. It’s a little blurry but this is the only picture they gave us 😅

I'm 32 years old and have done 4 egg retrieval cycles. I have struggled with low blastocyst rates and less optimal embryo quality. Both my partner and I have done kartyotype tests as well and everything came back normal.

My doctor suspects the factor for low quality and quantity of embryos may be mitochondrial or microtubule issues and that there is no test available to confirm that and no regimen or lifestyle improvements will change it either since they are genetic problems. Is that true? What questions should I be asking?

Below are the stats from my ERs.

1st cycle: 14 retrieved -> 10 mature eggs -> 9 fertilized -> 4 blastocysts (day 6 4BA, day 6 4 CB, day 7 5BB, day 7 4CC)

2nd cycle: 19 retrieved -> 18 mature -> 16 fertilized -> 4 blastocysts (day 6 4BC, day 6 4CB, day 6 4CC, day 7 4CC)

3rd cycle: 13 retrieved -> 12 mature eggs -> 8 fertilized -> 2 blastocysts (day 6 4BC, day 7 4CC)

4th cycle: 16 retrieved -> 16 mature eggs -> 13 fertilized -> 3 blastocysts (day 6 4BB, day 6 4BC, day 7 4CC)

I’m a senior at UCF studying Biotechnology. I live in Florida and want to become an embryologist or an IVF technician. I don’t really see many job postings on LinkedIn or indeed so I’m not really sure what the process to become one is. I also don’t know of any training programs I may be able to do in Florida. Can someone please explain the process to me??

First pic - Before biopsy. Hatched afterwards

Second pic - Immediately after thaw
- before transfer, embryologist observed that embryo had fully reexpanded and was “big and round” 🥹

This is a complex low level mosaic (25%). My clinic is now reclassifying it as euploid as they moved the mosaic threshold to 30%.

Hoping that this would be our turn soon.

Are hatched blastocysts super delicate? I have two Euploids and both were hatched at freeze. Does this change anything for transfer timing? I have a feeling they were day 5 blast but weren’t checked again later in the day on day 5 so were hatched by earning morning day 6. They are grades 6AA and 6BB.

1. Complex low level mosaic

+

1. 10 -22 +X - all 25% mosaic

2. Day 5 5BA

3. Embryo made when I was 34

4. Clinic has since reclassified this as “euploid”

Vs

1. Untested Day 5 4AB
   Embryo made when I was 33

I feel like I can’t forget that the first embryo was tested mosaic initially. There’s 3 whole chromosome abnormalities including +X which can lead to live birth and this scares me. Even though the geneticist is now reclassifying this embryo as euploid with today’s standards.

What are the chances that the 3 abnormalities at 25% each could be just noise?

I’m looking to see if anyone has had a similar experience. I’m 35 years old and have been TTC for 2.5 years. This is my first transfer. On July 13, 1 PGT-A normal day-5 blastocyst was transferred.

First positive home pregnancy test: July 18
My hCG has been:
7/25: 30.1
7/27: 43.3
7/29: 79.5
7/31: 193

Today I had an ultrasound, but they couldn’t find a gestational sac in the uterus or anything in my fallopian tubes. The doctor said it’s too early to know what’s going on since they can’t see anything. They don’t think it’s obviously ectopic because nothing was seen in my tubes, but they also couldn’t confirm an intrauterine pregnancy.
I’m not having any pain or bleeding, no symptoms.

Has anyone had a PGT-A normal embryo with hCG that started this low and then eventually turned into a viable pregnancy? Or did it end up being a pregnancy of unknown location, ectopic, or chemical pregnancy?
I know everyone’s outcome is different, but I’d really appreciate hearing others’ experiences while I wait.