I froze 16 eggs in one cycle at age 38 bc that’s all I could afford. Was pressured to freeze embryos w/ donor sperm since they are more stable through the freeze/thaw. Was also advised for more cycles/eggs based on data but again could not afford.
Well 5.5 years later age 43 (w/out a partner so using donor sperm anyway ironically) I was surprised when my RE told me eggs and embryos have similar success thawing now in their facility (SGF) and indeed my 16 frozen eggs thawed to 15 fertilized eggs and a week later I had 7 (all Day 6) blastocysts. Was feeling great up until then, until I had major attrition during PGT testing and only had 2 euploids (I knew 3-4 minimum were advised at my age for one live birth.)
Well I went forward with those 2 euploids (Day 6, late to fully hatched, both AA, one XX and one XY) knowing these were probably the only chance I’d have (no insurance for more retrievals plus at age 43.5 I knew odds were much worse anyway; I almost drained my savings just on the consults, genetic counseling appts, donor sperm, thaw/fertilization fee, and PGT cost which was nearly $20k before the $5800 per transfer fee.)
Anyway, my friends’ and family’s’ prayers for me must have worked b/c my hormone assisted (not natural cycle) first FET this winter is now a healthy 24 weeks pregnancy. I’m beyond grateful this worked for me and so glad I scraped up the money toward the end of my realistic window at 38, and despite getting less-than-advised numbers along the way, I guess it really is true that sometimes it really does just take one embryo! Now I’m contemplating whether to go for the XY transfer too next year even though one child was all I had dared to hope for these years.
Offering encouragement to those doing this at a later age, choosing to freeze eggs only with the hope of meeting a partner, unable (physically or can’t afford to) achieve the “suggested” numbers, etc. Have hope because I‘m proof that some people really do beat odds!