Comparing Day 3 and Day 5 Embryo Transfer Timing in Women Undergoing IVF with Few Embryos

What this Trial Is About

Infertility affects over 6 million women in the United States and brings various emotional, physical, and financial challenges. This research aims to compare pregnancy outcomes and patient satisfaction between two embryo transfer timings in IVF patients who have five or fewer embryos. The study focuses on helping patients and providers make evidence-based decisions on when to transfer embryos to improve counseling and reduce anxiety, especially for those with a poor prognosis. The trial randomly assigns 1126 women aged 18 to 44 undergoing their first IVF cycle with five or fewer embryos to either receive embryo transfer at the cleavage stage day 3, 8-cell embryo or at the blastocyst stage day 5-7 embryo. Surplus embryos that meet freezing criteria may be frozen and transferred in a later cycle. The study is conducted across nine IVF centers in the US. Participants will be monitored for six months or until all embryos have been transferred, and if pregnancy occurs, follow-up continues until delivery. Researchers will assess the chance of live birth per cycle, risks of miscarriage, multiple pregnancies, and cycle cancellations, along with secondary measures such as time to pregnancy, number of procedures, adverse perinatal outcomes, financial burden, and patient satisfaction. The study also examines factors affecting patient involvement in embryo transfer timing and guideline implementation.

Cleavage-stage Versus Blastocyst-stage Embryo Transfer in IVF Patients With Few Embryos