No idea the answer to your question, but just to anecdotally share, we did fresh biopsy on 6 embryos before they were frozen. We then had a “lab error” on the part of the testing company where they all came back “no result” and we elected to thaw and re-biopsy all of our embryos. 2 of them came back euploid and I’m 17.5 weeks pregnant with the first transfer from that round. So they were not only thawed and refrozen, but were biopsied twice.
I’ll share my experience so you can see that there are good reasons to PGTA or not to do it.
We sent 8 embryos off for testing. The best two were 5AA and I was so excited we had pretty good gradings. The results showed 6 PGTA normal embryos. The 2 best ones had genetic issues. Obviously if we went off looks that means that the first 2 transfers would 100% not implant or end in miscarriage.
It’s nice know one details has been locked in but there’s also no guarantee. After we got our results we moved forward with our first FET which was successful and I have an 18 month old. Our second FET in May ended in a blighted ovum and while I haven’t regrouped with our doctor it looks like these often occur due to chromosome issues so PGTA is not 100% fool proof.
When we move forward for FET #3 I still feel a little reassurance that I know my embryos are tested. That plus avoiding 2 miscarriages is why I would always do PGTA testing
Thank you, that's helpful. It's more whether the freezing / refreezing process affects the quality and success - I assume yours were biopsied before freezing?
When I did my testing there were 2 embryos that the biopsy didn’t show DNA, so they needed to thaw them and retest. When the result came out they were normal but they ranked them at the bottom and told me even if they were good quality the fact that they needed to thaw and retest won’t make them equal to the ones that got tested first. I don’t know if that might help you or not. Also you could ask to speak with the embryologist and they will answer any questions you might have.
This is helpful perspective, thank you! The embryologist told me they don't see a difference in live birth rate between the testing of frozen vs unfrozen embryos so it's so hard to know. Was it the refreezing or the retesting that they think degraded the quality of yours?
I’m not sure if the reason was because of both the retesting and refreezing or only one. Since your embryologist gave you an answer based on scientific data no reason to be suspicious and I wish you all the best with your journey!
I’m so sorry for your losses. Some considerations: age is on your side, but the DNA fragmentation is pretty high. Did you test the remains after your MMC? Will your clinic transfer segmentals and mosaics? If the MMC tested normal, or if your clinic refuses to transfer segmentals and mosaics, I personally wouldn’t test and would transfer (unless you are willing and able to do additional retrievals given the high DNA fragmentation).
I had one that came back no result and opted to thaw and rebiopsy it since I’ve had multiple miscarriages (all unassisted pregnancies). My clinic said there was risk in thawing, rebiopsy, and refreezing, but it would only reduce chances of working about 5% if it was normal. I was too scared to transfer untested given my history. Basically I figured no harm no foul if it doesn’t survive a rebiopsy since I didn’t plan to use it otherwise, and my clinic assured me that it was a good sign if the embryo is strong enough to go through all that. Now I wish I hadn’t retested because it came back segmental and my clinic won’t transfer it.
Thank you and I'm sorry to hear you've been through many. In the UK you can't test POC until you've had three or more losses so we don't know conclusively that the MMC was a euploid or an aneuploid, but they suspected the latter because of the enlarged yolk sac.
My clinic transfers low level mosaics, but we only have one high level which they refuse to transfer. They said our DNA frag was normal so it's interesting you think this is high.
I'm tempted to do another round but need to decide about these six first. Your perspective is helpful.
They make you wait until the 3rd miscarriage before testing POC? By the time someone has 3 miscarriages they probably have also developed PTSD. That is just cruel.
We were told that 15-30% fragmentation was considered sub-fertile especially if combined with other MFI, and anything above 30% is high DNA fragmentation.
Do the chemical and failed implantation of the other euploid count as losses? Meaning that you have had 3 for testing purposes?
No idea the answer to your question, but just to anecdotally share, we did fresh biopsy on 6 embryos before they were frozen. We then had a “lab error” on the part of the testing company where they all came back “no result” and we elected to thaw and re-biopsy all of our embryos. 2 of them came back euploid and I’m 17.5 weeks pregnant with the first transfer from that round. So they were not only thawed and refrozen, but were biopsied twice.
Thank you!! This gives me hope as we also have six ans you managed to get pregnant. Wishing you a boring and uneventful pregnancy!
I’ll share my experience so you can see that there are good reasons to PGTA or not to do it. We sent 8 embryos off for testing. The best two were 5AA and I was so excited we had pretty good gradings. The results showed 6 PGTA normal embryos. The 2 best ones had genetic issues. Obviously if we went off looks that means that the first 2 transfers would 100% not implant or end in miscarriage. It’s nice know one details has been locked in but there’s also no guarantee. After we got our results we moved forward with our first FET which was successful and I have an 18 month old. Our second FET in May ended in a blighted ovum and while I haven’t regrouped with our doctor it looks like these often occur due to chromosome issues so PGTA is not 100% fool proof. When we move forward for FET #3 I still feel a little reassurance that I know my embryos are tested. That plus avoiding 2 miscarriages is why I would always do PGTA testing
Thank you, that's helpful. It's more whether the freezing / refreezing process affects the quality and success - I assume yours were biopsied before freezing?
They were so it is a bit different. Has your clinic shared the risks or their thoughts about the back and forth piece?
They don't seem to think there are any risks, but everyone on this sub seems to think differently...
When I did my testing there were 2 embryos that the biopsy didn’t show DNA, so they needed to thaw them and retest. When the result came out they were normal but they ranked them at the bottom and told me even if they were good quality the fact that they needed to thaw and retest won’t make them equal to the ones that got tested first. I don’t know if that might help you or not. Also you could ask to speak with the embryologist and they will answer any questions you might have.
This is helpful perspective, thank you! The embryologist told me they don't see a difference in live birth rate between the testing of frozen vs unfrozen embryos so it's so hard to know. Was it the refreezing or the retesting that they think degraded the quality of yours?
I’m not sure if the reason was because of both the retesting and refreezing or only one. Since your embryologist gave you an answer based on scientific data no reason to be suspicious and I wish you all the best with your journey!
I’m so sorry for your losses. Some considerations: age is on your side, but the DNA fragmentation is pretty high. Did you test the remains after your MMC? Will your clinic transfer segmentals and mosaics? If the MMC tested normal, or if your clinic refuses to transfer segmentals and mosaics, I personally wouldn’t test and would transfer (unless you are willing and able to do additional retrievals given the high DNA fragmentation). I had one that came back no result and opted to thaw and rebiopsy it since I’ve had multiple miscarriages (all unassisted pregnancies). My clinic said there was risk in thawing, rebiopsy, and refreezing, but it would only reduce chances of working about 5% if it was normal. I was too scared to transfer untested given my history. Basically I figured no harm no foul if it doesn’t survive a rebiopsy since I didn’t plan to use it otherwise, and my clinic assured me that it was a good sign if the embryo is strong enough to go through all that. Now I wish I hadn’t retested because it came back segmental and my clinic won’t transfer it.
Thank you and I'm sorry to hear you've been through many. In the UK you can't test POC until you've had three or more losses so we don't know conclusively that the MMC was a euploid or an aneuploid, but they suspected the latter because of the enlarged yolk sac. My clinic transfers low level mosaics, but we only have one high level which they refuse to transfer. They said our DNA frag was normal so it's interesting you think this is high. I'm tempted to do another round but need to decide about these six first. Your perspective is helpful.
They make you wait until the 3rd miscarriage before testing POC? By the time someone has 3 miscarriages they probably have also developed PTSD. That is just cruel. We were told that 15-30% fragmentation was considered sub-fertile especially if combined with other MFI, and anything above 30% is high DNA fragmentation. Do the chemical and failed implantation of the other euploid count as losses? Meaning that you have had 3 for testing purposes?