Day 5 vs. Day 3??

[dreamer38]

Hi,
Just wondering who all had success from day 5 transfers and day 3 transfers?? Which is better?? I keep going back and forth!! Thanx for the info!!

[SDtrying]

My understanding is that this is quite an individual thing and there's no real right answer. Also it seems that depending on the clinic some have better success with 3days and some have better success with 5 days.

I think most of the studies show that the success rate is equal for 3 day vs. 5 day, but the difference being with 3 day transfers people typically transfer more. the benefit of 5 day is that you can do single and double transfer and have the same success rate which reduces the chances of multiples.

Ghost will probably be able to answer your questions best.

ps I had a BFP with a 5day single embryo transferr

[sameera]

dreamer - I had a 3 day transfer and now i am pregnant with twins!!

Really, the success rate for both 3day vs 5day is about the same but I heard that 5 day has a lot higher chance of getting positive results.

But then again it also depends on how fast and what stage your eggs will fertilized - some make it to 5 day ( blastocyst ) some don't.

Hope you find the answer you are looking for and good luck!!

Sameera

[smattison]

I did a 5dt this time and got a BFP. The embryologist told me the only advantage to a 5 day is selection. If you get to day five your chances are better, so they say! I have been told that a lot of clinics are going to only 5 day transfers. Good luck either way!!!

[Ghost]

The embryologist told me the only advantage to a 5 day is selection.

Yup. Selecting on Day 5 automatically eliminates any that could not make it that far. Blastocysts, which tend to form on day 5 or 6, are more complex, so there is more information to use in selecting the best of them.

These facts explain the higher implantation and pregnancy rates.

The higher implantation rate with (day 5) blastocysts implies you can get the same pregnancy rate with fewer of them. The transfer of 2 blasts might achieve roughly the same pregnancy rate ans 3 day 3 embryos. But there would be a lower chance of triplet pregnancy. This is a big selling point in blast transfer.

A down side is that some believe embryos do better in the uterus than in lab culture media. If true, then an early transfer might benefit.

[BABYBARB]

im probably going to do the transfer on 6/16 using donor eggs. the donor coordinator told me their are going to do a 3 day transfer instead of 5. i was taken back because the eggs werent even retreived yet. the donors previous cycles were at other clinics took her embies to blast. the coordinator told me their 3 day frozen does better in thawing. Im starting to think I should of went back to weill cornell. the doctor discussed with me a month prior that the blast is a great indicator of a viable embryo.

I have read from Dr. Smiths forum that most clinics opt for 3 day because its cheaper, its less work for the lab, lower liability beacause the lab has the embies for a shorter period of time. Everybody makes it to the transfer,if the cycle doesnt result in pregnancy,the program still looks good.

I hope for my sake he is wrong.

[Ghost]

im probably going to do the transfer on 6/16 using donor eggs. the donor coordinator told me their are going to do a 3 day transfer instead of 5. i was taken back because the eggs werent even retreived yet. the donors previous cycles were at other clinics took her embies to blast. the coordinator told me their 3 day frozen does better in thawing. Im starting to think I should of went back to weill cornell. the doctor discussed with me a month prior that the blast is a great indicator of a viable embryo.

I have read from Dr. Smiths forum that most clinics opt for 3 day because its cheaper, its less work for the lab, lower liability beacause the lab has the embies for a shorter period of time. Everybody makes it to the transfer,if the cycle doesnt result in pregnancy,the program still looks good.

I hope for my sake he is wrong.

Agreed.

One thing I have observed is that many doctors feel that a failed transfer is better than a cancellation before transfer. To me, a failure is a failure, and the sooner the failure is recognized the better, because there is less time and money spent on it. However, many doctors seem to prefer if the failure occurs after transfer because then they can more clearly "blame" the embryos. This affects the day 3 vs day 5 decision, as some will transfer on day 3 just to say they provided a transfer. If those embryos were to arrest on day 4 (at compaction stage), then this occurred in the uterus instead of in the lab. It changes the appearance in some minds to being the fault of the embryos, and not the lab.

[w8ingformiracles]

We transferred 5 embryos on day 3 and are having twins.

[IndieBlue]

Wow, congratulations. Can I ask why the doctor transferred 5? I had to bed, plead and cry just to get 3 transferred. Mine were 6 cell, 5 cell and ? cell. I have tubal factor IF and I'm 34....so again, not sure why they put up such a fight, it wasn't like I was transferring three 5 day blast LOL

[alimoyni]

I like the idea of 5 days alot better. You control your multiples chance alot better and you know they have matured further and are more likely to keep developing. My RE plans on putting 2 day5s in once I get to that stage, so hopefully it works out.

[beachbaby]

Hi, I am in the UK where rules are slightly different. If you are under 40 we are only able to transfer 2 embryo's. Over 40 you can transfer 3, this is to keep multiple births down.
My clinic which nis NHS funded as well as private, only do 2 day transfers as they feel the embryo's are best in their natural environment.
I had 2 chemical pregnancies. and was found to have a clotting disorder. i was treated for this on my last go, and transferred 2x 2day, 4 cell embryo's and i am 35 weeks pregnant with twins. I feel having read this forum over 2 years and seen good and bad results with all stages of transfer, if the embryo's are good it will work.

Good luck to you all.
Beachbaby