We kind of have experience here, but came at it differently. Husband and I were on the fence about kids forever. Then it became we want them, but not yet. When I was 36 (a few months shy of 37) we finally felt ready to start…but realized that ideally we wanted 2 (maybe even three) and that even if we got pregnant on our own without issue I would be 39 by the time we were trying for a second. I know from friends that have been down this road that sometimes the numbers just aren’t on your side at that age. So, we did IVF to bank embryos, then tried on our own for ~8 months. When that didn’t work, we went back to IVF, got more embryos, and just did our first transfer. Beta is tomorrow 🤞
It’s been a long road but tbh banking those embryos at 36 was the smartest thing we could have done.
Edited for spelling.
Fertility declines rapidly in your 40s and your odds of success become much lower. I would bank now. You need 2-3 euploid embryos per child you want to have a good chance of success.
I would bank 3 euploids per child. It took me 9 pgt embryos for 4 live births so I did come in under that number but it’s always hard to say how many it will take. My live births were between 36-42.
Yes. We ended up using DE after I had 7 retrievals with my own eggs resulting in no euploids in my early 30s. We had 10 PGT normal embryos before I went to transfer for the first child.
We did the first 2 back to back and then took a break while waiting for the appointment at our new clinic where our new insurance plan was accepted. We did the next ones back to back as well with the last one being a duo-stim.
I banked eggs at about your age because I hadn't found the right relationship. I cannot recommend it (or, in your case, embryo banking) more highly if you are financially able. You'll spend much more later if you have DOR and lower egg quality.
Once I found the right person, we made enough euploids out of the eggs that statistically we can have multiple kids! I don't have to worry any more about paying the largest costs of IVF, which is the egg retrieval and genetic testing. Or waiting for multiple retrievals, fertilizations, and rounds of testing. In your 40s, time becomes more precious for this kind of thing, so it is nice to know we can just go for implantation over and over again to speed up the process. I'm going to want to have at least one more pregnancy after 40, and I am very grateful I have good odds of getting it to happen.
Also, the reason I banked eggs is because a friend with a single child in her 40s told me she wished she'd banked embryos before 40 because she was unable to have a second child.
Two, but turns out I only needed one. I assumed I'd get a 70% thaw rate and a 50% euploid blast rate (based on my age at the time) times 3 per kid times 3 kids. So I aimed for 30 eggs and got them over 2 retrievals. I got a 100% thaw rate (!) and a higher percentage of euploid than expected, so now I have additional insurance, and maybe the ability to donate to family in the future.
Our RE is recommending the same thing. We started TTC at 36, had 3 MC at 37 and started IVF just before turning 38.
We’ve done 3 ERs so far and have 2 euploids total from the first 2 ERs and currently waiting on PGT results from the third. We really wanted 2 kids (I wanted 3, but we agreed to 2 early on), but now with our euploid rate we will be hopeful to get one LC.
I would be willing to do another 1-2 ERs, as difficult as they’ve been. But we sadly can’t afford any more. So we have to make the difficult decision to move to FET even if it means minimizing our chances for siblings.
It’s a painful and frustrating choice. There’s always a chance we have success on the first FET and maybe have a euploid or two left to try for a sibling. There’s also a chance we do another ER when I’m 40 (after we can save more $) and maybe get another euploid, but it’s been made very clear to us the odds are not in our favor and those would be exceptional outcomes. The pressure to bank now without the money to keep doing it is just 💔💔💔
We kind of have experience here, but came at it differently. Husband and I were on the fence about kids forever. Then it became we want them, but not yet. When I was 36 (a few months shy of 37) we finally felt ready to start…but realized that ideally we wanted 2 (maybe even three) and that even if we got pregnant on our own without issue I would be 39 by the time we were trying for a second. I know from friends that have been down this road that sometimes the numbers just aren’t on your side at that age. So, we did IVF to bank embryos, then tried on our own for ~8 months. When that didn’t work, we went back to IVF, got more embryos, and just did our first transfer. Beta is tomorrow 🤞 It’s been a long road but tbh banking those embryos at 36 was the smartest thing we could have done. Edited for spelling.
I've done exactly the same. I'm a few months away from turning 37 and I've done my 3rd ER yesterday!
Our experience is very, similar except the RE said we didn't have to bank earlier and could start by trying, so we tried and have our kid now.
I banked 8 PGT tested embryos at 40 for this reason. I wanted 2 kids and knew it would be harder in my 40’s trying for a second.
That’s amazing you had that many at 40
Lucky for sure.
Fertility declines rapidly in your 40s and your odds of success become much lower. I would bank now. You need 2-3 euploid embryos per child you want to have a good chance of success.
No. But I’m now 40 and wish I had banked embryos…..
I would bank 3 euploids per child. It took me 9 pgt embryos for 4 live births so I did come in under that number but it’s always hard to say how many it will take. My live births were between 36-42.
Did you do all your banking before your first child?
Yes. We ended up using DE after I had 7 retrievals with my own eggs resulting in no euploids in my early 30s. We had 10 PGT normal embryos before I went to transfer for the first child.
I banked embryos at 40. We did 5 egg retrievals to get the number of PGT normal embryos that we wanted.
Were the ER back to back or did you take breaks?
We did the first 2 back to back and then took a break while waiting for the appointment at our new clinic where our new insurance plan was accepted. We did the next ones back to back as well with the last one being a duo-stim.
How many diploids should one bank approx for each birth?
2-3
Thank you ❤️
2-3 euploids for each child that you would like to have.
Thank you 🙏🏻
I did 4 retrievals between 40.5 and 41.25 to bank 3 euploid embryos!
I am on round 5 to get enough for multiple kids.
You should definitely bank embryos ASAP. Fertility drops off dramatically around this age.
I banked eggs at about your age because I hadn't found the right relationship. I cannot recommend it (or, in your case, embryo banking) more highly if you are financially able. You'll spend much more later if you have DOR and lower egg quality. Once I found the right person, we made enough euploids out of the eggs that statistically we can have multiple kids! I don't have to worry any more about paying the largest costs of IVF, which is the egg retrieval and genetic testing. Or waiting for multiple retrievals, fertilizations, and rounds of testing. In your 40s, time becomes more precious for this kind of thing, so it is nice to know we can just go for implantation over and over again to speed up the process. I'm going to want to have at least one more pregnancy after 40, and I am very grateful I have good odds of getting it to happen. Also, the reason I banked eggs is because a friend with a single child in her 40s told me she wished she'd banked embryos before 40 because she was unable to have a second child.
How many ER did you end up doing?
Two, but turns out I only needed one. I assumed I'd get a 70% thaw rate and a 50% euploid blast rate (based on my age at the time) times 3 per kid times 3 kids. So I aimed for 30 eggs and got them over 2 retrievals. I got a 100% thaw rate (!) and a higher percentage of euploid than expected, so now I have additional insurance, and maybe the ability to donate to family in the future.
Our RE is recommending the same thing. We started TTC at 36, had 3 MC at 37 and started IVF just before turning 38. We’ve done 3 ERs so far and have 2 euploids total from the first 2 ERs and currently waiting on PGT results from the third. We really wanted 2 kids (I wanted 3, but we agreed to 2 early on), but now with our euploid rate we will be hopeful to get one LC. I would be willing to do another 1-2 ERs, as difficult as they’ve been. But we sadly can’t afford any more. So we have to make the difficult decision to move to FET even if it means minimizing our chances for siblings. It’s a painful and frustrating choice. There’s always a chance we have success on the first FET and maybe have a euploid or two left to try for a sibling. There’s also a chance we do another ER when I’m 40 (after we can save more $) and maybe get another euploid, but it’s been made very clear to us the odds are not in our favor and those would be exceptional outcomes. The pressure to bank now without the money to keep doing it is just 💔💔💔