Fertility Road Issue 44 May/June 2018

FERTILITY 360
STEP 3
Look after those embryos
If possible, look for clinics that offer embryo
monitoring and preimplantation genetic
screening, or PGS. Embryo monitoring allows
the embryologist to closely monitor a patient’s
embryo as they develop in the incubator.
This is important because it can tell them
which embryos are not dividing properly and
achieving their developmental milestones. For
women over 40, embryos are more likely to have
genetic abnormalities than a younger woman
and so monitoring helps the embryologist
select the best ones for transfer. PGS is a process
whereby the developing embryo is checked
for genetic abnormalities such as Down’s
Syndrome – embryos from women over 40 are
at a higher risk of these generic abnormalities.
It is important to note that this process is only
really necessary for IVF treatment using own
eggs – eggs from donors are younger and so do
not usually require screening.
STEP 4
Manage your risk
It’s important to consider the financial and
personal risks of IVF treatment. With this in
mind, it’s worth having a look for clinics that
offer a ‘shared risk programme’ to mitigate
possible failures. For example, some may allow
you to pay for two cycles, and if they don’t work,
offer the third round for free. At the very least
this could save you some money.
Having surplus embryos which can be frozen
is a bonus – but check to see if freezing them
is included in your treatment price otherwise
you will have to be prepared to cover this cost.
Having frozen embryos means that you can go
back if you want a sibling for your child, or if you
were unsuccessful first time, you could go back
just for a frozen embryo transfer which removes
the reliance on synchronising with a donor.
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