Five Failures, One Last Try

By the time Mrs W. contacted IRMC, she had been trying to have a child for four years. Five IVF cycles — at two different clinics — had all ended in failure. Three had not resulted in a transfer at all. Two had transferred embryos that did not implant. She was 41 years old and running out of options she believed in.

Her message to IRMC's coordinators was simple: "I want to understand why it keeps failing before I try again." That question — focused on diagnosis rather than repetition — shaped everything that followed.

"I didn't want to try again. I wanted to understand why it kept failing."

— Mrs W., age 41

IRMC's team reviewed all five previous cycles in detail. The embryos transferred in her two failed cycles had not been genetically screened — a common gap in standard IVF protocols. At 41, the proportion of chromosomally abnormal embryos is significantly higher than at younger ages. The most likely reason for failure was not a problem with Mrs W., but with the embryos that had been selected.

The plan at IRMC was straightforward but rigorous: a stimulation cycle, development to day-5 blastocyst, trophectoderm biopsy, and full chromosomal analysis using next-generation sequencing. From the cycle, two blastocysts were obtained. Testing identified one as chromosomally normal.

The frozen embryo transfer was planned with careful endometrial preparation. The single euploid embryo was transferred in a natural-cycle protocol. On day 14, Mrs W.'s hCG was strongly positive.

"I kept the test," she told us. "I still have it. I don't think I'll ever throw it away."

Mrs W. continued her pregnancy monitoring remotely with her home physician, supported by teleconsultation from IRMC's obstetric team throughout. She delivered a healthy son nine months after her transfer.