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. 2018 Jan;35(1):135-142.
doi: 10.1007/s10815-017-1048-6. Epub 2017 Sep 22.

Frozen embryo transfer can be performed in the cycle immediately following the freeze-all cycle

Kemal Ozgur  1 , Hasan Bulut  1 , Murat Berkkanoglu  1 , Peter Humaidan  2 , Kevin Coetzee  3
Affiliations

Frozen embryo transfer can be performed in the cycle immediately following the freeze-all cycle

Kemal Ozgur et al. J Assist Reprod Genet. 2018 Jan.

Abstract

Purpose: In this study, we investigated whether the time interval between oocyte retrieval and frozen embryo transfer (FET) affected the live birth (LB) rates of human segmented-IVF cycles.

Method: A total of 1338 ICSI freeze-all cycles were performed between February 2015 and January 2016, with 1121 FET cycles being retrospectively analyzed. All vitrified-warmed blastocyst transfers were performed in artificial FET cycles, using gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist downregulation and oral estrogen endometrial preparation. The primary outcome measure was LB. Cycles were investigated in oocyte retrieval-to-FET interval groups of 32-46, 47-61, 62-76, 77-91, and ≥ 92 days, with the 47-61-day group used as the reference group.

Results: There were no significant differences in LB rates between the groups in the overall analysis, as well as, in sub-analyses investigating LB in terms of single blastocyst transfer (SBT), trigger type (GnRH agonist, triggers including hCG), oocyte number (≤ 5 and ≥ 15), and maternal age (> 35 years).

Conclusion: The present study showed that it is feasible to perform transfers 36 days after oocyte retrieval and that delaying FET in freeze-all beyond the cycle immediately following oocyte retrieval does not increase LB rates.

Keywords: Blastocyst; Delay; Freeze-all; Frozen embryo transfer; Live birth.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interests

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Distribution of FET according to the number of days after oocyte retrieval
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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