October 15, 2013

According to research, frozen embryos have increased implantation and live birth rates, are less likely to be born pre-term and have a lower risk of miscarriage than fresh embryo transfers

DENVER – October 15, 2013 – The Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine (CCRM) today announced that using embryos that have been frozen and then thawed results in greater success from IVF than using fresh embryos. In concordance with research at CCRM, studies from around the world have shown that in vitro fertilization pregnancies following a frozen embryo transfer are more similar to natural conception pregnancies than fresh embryo transfer cycles resulting in:

•    Increased implantation rates
•    Increased ongoing pregnancy rates
•    Increased live birth rates
•    Decreased miscarriage rates
•    Lowered risk of pre-term labor
•    Healthier babies

“Since frozen embryo transfers occur a significant amount of time after a woman’s ovaries were stimulated with medications, the hormone levels in the body have had time to return to normal, which mimics a more natural conception process,” says William Schoolcraft, M.D., medical director of CCRM. “This process appears to have a positive impact on the health of the baby.”

Researchers have also found that lengthening the time between administering the drugs and pregnancy lowers the chances of a woman’s risk of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, a potentially fatal complication that can be triggered by taking certain fertility medications that stimulate egg production.

CCRM data, which will be presented at the 2013 American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) annual meeting this week, found that women of advanced maternal age (36-42 years) had a significantly higher live birth rate using frozen embryos in conjunction with comprehensive chromosomal screening (CCS) compared to fresh embryos.  Women using frozen embryos for transfer had a live birth rate of 74.5 percent as compared to women using fresh embryos with a live birth rate of 53.7 percent.

Founded in 1987 by Dr. William Schoolcraft, the Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine is one of the nation’s leading infertility treatment centers, providing a wide spectrum of infertility treatments ranging from basic infertility care to advanced in vitro fertilization (IVF) technology. Today, joined by Drs. Eric Surrey, Debra Minjarez, Robert Gustofson and Jennifer Brown, Dr. Schoolcraft and his staff achieve some of the highest pregnancy rates in the country. CCRM has been ranked “The #1 Fertility Center in the U.S. with the Greatest Chance of Success” by Child.com. For more information visit www.ColoCRM.com.

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CCRM