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Top quality embryos at day 2: a prerequisite for single blastocyst transfer? An observational cohort study in women under 36

  • Assisted Reproduction
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose

While extended culture has been considerably improved, some questions remain regarding the application of Single Blastocyst Transfer (SBT).

Methods

An observational cohort study was undertaken with 456 women under 36 years old and assigned to SBT on a voluntary basis. The main outcome was the cumulative delivery rate per couple according to the number of Top Quality Embryos (TQE) on day 2 (Group 1= ≥2 TQE, Group 2= 1 TQE and Group 3= 0 TQE).

Results

Rate of transfer and mean number of frozen blastocyts were higher in Group 1 compared to Group 3. As a consequence, the cumulative delivery rate per couple was higher in Group 1 (47.9%) compared to Group 3 (34.9%).

Conclusions

Single blastocyst transfer combining fresh and frozen cycles, might be a worthwhile strategy irrespective of embryo quality on day 2 providing good delivery rates while keeping the rate of multiple deliveries low.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Service de Médecine et Biologie de la Reproduction, CHRU Bretonneau, 37000, Tours, France

    Fabrice Guerif, Malak Lemseffer, Milène Blanchard & Dominique Royere

  2. Université François Rabelais, 37000, Tours, France

    Fabrice Guerif, Malak Lemseffer, Milène Blanchard & Dominique Royere

  3. INRA UMR 85 - CNRS UMR 6175, 37380, Nouzilly, France

    Fabrice Guerif, Malak Lemseffer, Milène Blanchard & Dominique Royere

Authors
  1. Fabrice Guerif
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  2. Malak Lemseffer
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  3. Milène Blanchard
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  4. Dominique Royere
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Fabrice Guerif.

Additional information

Capsule Couples with ≥2 TQE have increased rate of cumulative deliveries after single blastocyst transfer following fresh and frozen cycles compared to couples without TQE.

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Guerif, F., Lemseffer, M., Blanchard, M. et al. Top quality embryos at day 2: a prerequisite for single blastocyst transfer? An observational cohort study in women under 36. J Assist Reprod Genet 26, 443–449 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-009-9345-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-009-9345-3

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