Our FET Game Plan

It wasn't until this evening that Aaron and I knew what our game plan would be for our FET.

During my post-unsuccessful-IVF consult with Dr. Weckstein, Dr. Weckstein indicated to me what his recommendation is for our FET as far as how many embryos to transfer and which ones.

As you may recollect, we were fortunate enough to have three 6-day blastocysts frozen, with 5AA, 5BB- and 2AB grades (two of which are better than the blastocysts we had transferred for our IVF cycle!).

Dr. Weckstein suggested we transfer our best and worst embryos (so, the 5AA and 2AB graded blastocysts), leaving our second best embryo to transfer if our first FET attempt is unsuccessful. Ultimately, he reassured me, it was Aaron and my decision.

He gave each of our hatching blastocysts (the ones graded as a 5) a 30% chance of implantation, whereas the blastocyst graded as a 2 only has a 10% to 15% chance of implantation. When I brought up transferring all three embryos, he said he did not recommend it as we would have a 10% to 15% chance of having triplets, which is not the most acceptable outcome.

Aaron and I digested those numbers for the past couple weeks. I prayed for guidance because I really was lost. So confused on what would be our best option. But, given that if we transferred the best and worst embryos, we'd only have a 40% to 45% chance of getting pregnant, we decided that transferring the two best embryos, giving ourself a 60% success rate, would be our best option.

And, if it didn't work...then we would not pursue a second FET and we'd move on to our next step (whatever that would be!).

But, despite the fact that we made our decision, transferring all three embryos was still weighing heavily on my heart. I didn't feel like I successfully conveyed to Dr. Weckstein during my consult how transferring all three embryos is a strong consideration for us. I wanted him to know exactly how both Aaron and I felt before completely throwing away the idea of transferring all three of them.


So, I sent his nurse an e-mail, who then forwarded it onto him. Some of the e-mail went as follows:

Aaron and I have thought and prayed A LOT about this. And, even though Dr. Weckstein isn't a fan of the idea of transferring all 3 embryos, is there any possibility that he'd consider it?

I've done a bit of research and it looks like clinics do transfer 3 embryos for the >35 age group. I don't know specific considerations put into that, but I have seen that the average embryos transferred for my age group is above 2, which means there are some instances of 3 embryo transfers.

Also, Aaron and I would have a very difficult time justifying paying for and transferring only 1 embryo if our fresh embryo transfer (of 2 embryos) was unsuccessful and if our FET (of 2 embryos) is also unsuccessful. We'd likely not even consider a FET for just 1 embryo if the first two attempts are negative.

I know Dr. Weckstein is concerned about the chance of having triplets. Justifiably so!

But, Aaron and I are willing to take that risk because, in our eyes, the benefits outweigh the risks. The benefit of getting pregnant and ending this long journey of infertility. We want this so bad, and I know Dr. Weckstein has probably seen lots of desperate infertile couples over the years, but I just want him to truly understand our desire to transfer all 3.

Dr. Weckstein called me this afternoon with his response. I was nervous to answer the phone! But, the conversation went exceptionally well. He said he did not want to stop us from doing what we want, so that if we want to transfer all three, he'd do it!

So, with all of that said, Aaron and I will be transferring all three embryos during our FET. The question still remains when we will do it. :)