Fertility Treatments Can Be Successful Even in VERY Poor Prognosis Patients

    NEW YORK, NY, October 02, 2015 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Women widely thought to be "hopelessly" infertile have a much higher likelihood of having a baby with their own eggs than most fertility doctors believe, according to a new study published in the medical journal Fertility and Sterility, the official organ of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM). The study offers new hope to women who currently frequently are told by their physicians that use of donor eggs is their only chance.

So called poor-prognosis patients are usually women above ages 40-42 but can also be younger women with abnormally low functional ovarian reserve. Because they represent the most difficult infertility cases and have only limited pregnancy chances with use of their own eggs, they require special attention and expertise and, still, may lower a center's success overall rates. They, therefore, are often denied use of their own eggs under the premature assumption that such treatment will be futile, and that only donor eggs offer an option of conception.

Women seeking second or third opinions, however, often find themselves at the Center for Human Reproduction (CHR) in New York, one of only very few fertility centers worldwide that do offer services routinely to this kind of adversely selected patients. This specialty allowed them to accumulate the large number of results reported in this scientific publication.

The article, written by CHR researchers, examined live-birth outcomes for 483 poor-prognosis patients at their center who underwent 768 IVF cycles using their own eggs. A large majority were over 40, with the oldest being 51.

381 IVF cycles produced at least 1 embryo and, therefore, reached embryo transfer. Among those, the study demonstrated that ultimate live birth chances depended on 2 factors: age of the patient and number of embryos available for transfer; the younger the patient the better, and the more embryos were available the better. Up to age 40, even only 1 or 2 embryos still denoted very good live birth chances. Above age 40, the number of available embryos, however, assumed increasing importance with advancing age.

The investigators concluded: "Defining age-specific live birth rates in a population of very poor prognosis patients, we demonstrate that even such patient to their mid-40s can still achieve acceptable live birth rates." They then added: "The degree to which egg donation is emphasized as the only treatment option in such patients, therefore, requires reconsideration."

About The Center for Human Reproduction
The Center for Human Reproduction (CHR), located in New York City, is one of the world's leading clinical and research centers in reproductive medicine and infertility. CHR has special expertise in treating women with low functional ovarian reserve, and pioneered many innovations that have become mainstays of infertility treatments worldwide. The study's authors are available for further comments. Contact: 212-994-4400 x.4492
This and other studies by these investigators can be found at: https://www.centerforhumanreprod.com/fertility

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