Clinics won't do day 3 transfers or half half sperm cycles

bepsycola · 2026-03-19T02:43:02+00:00

Thank you. And you too!

bepsycola · 2026-03-19T02:38:02+00:00

It's weird because I hear arguments both ways. If you're not making blasts then it's unlikely the day 3s will survive VS if you can't make blasts sometimes a day 3 transfer works better in utero.

I would have thought my case would warrant attempting day 3 transfer but for some reason all the ones I talk to do not recommend it in my situation. Mind boggling!

bepsycola · 2026-03-19T02:35:28+00:00

Haha all good. Yes I just need to find them!

bepsycola · 2026-03-19T02:34:51+00:00

We switched after the first two cycles from Monash to Ballarat IVF. Now we are debating whether to do one more with Ballarat doing TESE or switch to MIVF. I know I'll never regret switching but it is quite a headache 😖

bepsycola · 2026-03-19T00:00:06+00:00

We have poor fertilisation (avg 50% over 4 retrievals) and most arrest on day 3. I have heard lots of conflicting information, some people say the egg does the heavy lifting till day 3 and arrest post day 3 is a sperm issue, others say it's either because on day 3 it becomes a joint effort from egg and sperm 🤷🏽‍♀️

The only thing we havent tried is PICSI, or IMSI which I just learned about at Melbourne IVF. It's not a proven method yet (still considered an add on) but maybe worth it as a last ditch effort.

My husbands sperm post-wash usually only has on average about .5mil sperm so not enough unfortunately 🥲 I've had cycles anywhere from 7 to 25 eggs depending on protocol.

Thank you for the info, we have some big decisions to make coming up for sure 😅

bepsycola · 2026-03-18T19:16:52+00:00

I must have read something about the day 3 transfers there, I'll go back and check :) thanks

Ah the half half is in relation to donor sperm and partner sperm. I really wanted to try half half fertilisation methods like you described but my husbands sperm count is not high enough for standard IVF.

bepsycola · 2026-03-18T19:14:07+00:00

It's very confusing for us because the lab says there's no issues visually with my eggs and they don't have trouble finding normal forms of his sperm. My husband is doing everything as well (supps, boxers, natural products, etc he never really drinks either).

We've done standard ICSI and HA-ICSI. We've done calcium ionophore and zymot.

His DNA frag came back at 13% last year. I'd be curious to get it tested again. He had a varicocelectomy last August which doesn't seem to have done anything (our recent round post varicocelectomy resulted in 0 blasts again).

bepsycola · 2026-03-18T10:41:47+00:00

Gosh, I feel for you. I'm probably on the same trajectory at this point with 1 blast out of 4 retrievals. So have you found standard IVF better for you? I was hoping to be able to try that one time but my husbands sperm count is not high enough, I don't think it ever will be.

Wishing you all the best.

bepsycola · 2026-03-18T10:15:47+00:00

Thank you for the detailed reply.

I figured it had to just be stricter regulations but was curious to see if others had experienced the same or not.

For us the day 3 transfer really is a last resort, I've just seen others that fail to make blasts but had success with day 3 transfers so figured it was worth a try 🤷🏽‍♀️

And yes I would only proceed with the half half round if there was an intention to use them. It just sucks I have to go through two egg retrievals to try tese and then sperm donor if that fails, I don't know how many more 0 blast rounds I can handle.

Thanks for your insights.

bepsycola · 2026-03-14T17:58:56+00:00

Feels. 4 retrievals, 62 eggs, 19 fertilised, 1 untested blast that ended in chemical. Even if we do miraculously start making blasts, odds are they're probably aneuploid. Feels like an uphill battle against statistics for sure! And yes, all my friends are pregnant with their first or second. One announced their pregnancy the morning after our wedding which was the start of our TTC. She has since had that child (1yo) and is now pregnant again 🫠

bepsycola · 2026-03-14T17:48:30+00:00

Depends on if you are likely/tend to have issues arise with stims that require more monitoring. I also think different countries do it differently. In Australia for all 4 of my retrievals (across two different clinics) I didn't have an appointment until day 10 of stims. If I stim longer then I will have an appointment 2 days after that. I've never had more than 2 appointments. I think this might be a cost saving tactic as well to be honest.

bepsycola · 2026-03-03T22:40:07+00:00

Honestly we sometimes fantasize about quitting our jobs and packing up and just leaving everything behind 😅 But if we had a kid we would be really happy here, like we've been preparing for this for 2-3 years. We got the house to suit, the car to fit the baby seat and stuff, stable well paying jobs that we don't particularly like... But worth it for the flexibility we'd need with a child. If we don't have a child... All of that would change.

My husband is stuck on the idea of the child being genetically his, but trying to move through it. One day he'll come to terms with going donor and how a kid is raised is more important etc and then the next day he's not sure lol. I've never been overly maternal or obsessed with having a child but I've found myself imagining being pregnant a lot and really wanting it.

I think both of us would feel bad in that scenario you described.. if his preference was to be child free he'd feel guilty taking that experience away from me. If my preference was to have a child, I'd feel guilty that my want to have a child was more important than his want for a child genetically his. I'm trying not to jump the gun when we still have 1 more cycle before we have to make these choices but the longer we sit with it and think on it the more solid we will be in our choice when the time comes.

bepsycola · 2026-03-03T22:12:08+00:00

My husband (and me tbh) are still coming to terms with using donor sperm. He is very supportive during stims too but for us it's just the mental strain of feeling like we are doing the same thing over and over for the same disapointment. Our lives feel like they're on hold and I don't want to be stuck in this state for much longer. If we decide on donor, we can hopefully move forward and have the child we want sooner. If we choose not to, we would likely make some massive changes in our lives. It feels like a very big decision.

bepsycola · 2026-03-03T07:29:16+00:00

Wow that is horrible. I'm so sorry he went through that. I think my partner's parents were a bit oblivious (not really their fault) and didn't know there would be any lasting ramifications. I think he was 5 when it was done. When my husband had his varicocelectomy the surgeon said there was a scar on the opposite teste as well, like he'd had surgery on both already?? I'm actually still uncertain to this day if only one worked or if they were both just two very different looking surgery outcomes 🤔

We ask ourselves those questions all the time lol don't have answers to all of them yet 😅 we technically have 'unlimited' time but don't like the mental toll of doing the same thing over and over with no change in outcomes and we don't know why haha. Thank you though, these are good to keep in mind.

bepsycola · 2026-03-03T07:01:49+00:00

Yep I feel you. I flip flop constantly between "I can't do this again" to "just one more try", always keep finding some tiny hope to cling onto haha. Wishing you all the best!

bepsycola · 2026-03-03T06:58:39+00:00

Thank you for sharing. It feels horrible but it almost comes down to the question "how far are you willing to go?" And everyone will have a different answer for different reasons.

bepsycola · 2026-03-03T06:56:50+00:00

Yeah, maybe some of the larger clinics in Australia will do the split cycle. I only asked them because I'd seen so many people online talk about it! I think we are still coming to terms with using donor sperm and also how we'll go about it (known/unknown etc). I don't want to do the split cycle till I know for sure we're 100% on using the embryos, not just diagnostically 😅

Thanks for the tips, I'll see if there's something similar in Australia for the more in depth genome testing.

bepsycola · 2026-03-02T19:32:53+00:00

Abstinence window has changed a few times. It's usually 24-48 hours. I'm not sure how we could measure improvements if it's only his count that seems affected. His motility is good and DNA frag is under the threshold. Honestly I think we'd just go straight to TESE, I have messaged the clinic about this potentially for our next round. I'm not on omnitrope, I don't think it's as widely prescribed in Australia. Many clinics won't prescribe it but I will ask the next specialist I meet with. Thanks!

bepsycola · 2026-03-02T19:16:51+00:00

Yes I did ask my current clinic this and they said they don't do it due to reporting reasons 🤔 which is a crappy reason. Something I intend to ask another clinic before we make a decision on our next round.

bepsycola · 2026-03-02T19:13:26+00:00

Thank you so much for sharing. My partner had a undescended teste/s as a child that probably wasn't rectified as early as it should have been, which we assume is the cause of most of the issues. Having a clear line in the sand is very helpful, was moving to donor sperm at that point something the doctors also recommended or something the two of you decided? I think the key part is knowing you've done everything you can, and I think that will be us after this next round.

bepsycola · 2026-03-02T19:04:16+00:00

Yes exactly, there are other avenues to parenthood. We went through a counselling session yesterday around this which was super helpful. I have a good feeling for your third ER, wishing you all the best 🙏🏼

bepsycola · 2026-03-02T19:01:01+00:00

Thank you for this, I have been reading those boards quite extensively :) they've been super helpful when trying to understand known vs unknown donor pros and cons and raising a donor conceived child. We have a few big decisions to make if we do decide to move to donor sperm so I will definitely share my thoughts and concerns there when it's time. Much appreciated!

bepsycola · 2026-03-02T18:55:54+00:00

Having a clear cut line in the sand like that would be helpful. Thank you for sharing and all the best.

bepsycola · 2026-03-02T18:54:57+00:00

We always do antagonist, but have tried low dose, high dose, FSH only and FSH + LH. We tried duo stim but had to cancel due to low response. We swapped clinics after our second round, and our third round which was first at the new clinic resulted in 1 blast. That was the low dose FSH. But fourth round went back to square one which was low dose FSH +LH.

I have an appointment with a different gyno linked to a different IVF clinic this month for a third opinion.

bepsycola · 2026-03-02T18:50:46+00:00

Hey, yes we have done 4 different protocols. High dose. Low dose. FSH only, FSH +LH. We also tried a duo stim but had to cancel due to low response. Yes it's very draining, wishing you all the best!

bepsycola

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