I’ve been following the recent research undertaken into comparing outcomes of frozen versus fresh embryo transfers with interest over the past year or so. There seems to be increasing evidence emerging that frozen cycles may result in higher implantation and live birth rates. It would suggest that transferring an embryo back into a woman whom has been highly stimulated by synthetic hormones may not be as restful an environment as it could be. Allowing the uterus and hormones levels to recover from IVF drugs and arranging a later transfer using frozen embryos may be the way forward in the future. Read more here.
If it proves to be the case that frozen is better, the challenge is in clinics improving freezing protocols and reaching better thawing rates.
Whether it is fresh or frozen there are pros and cons of each, and that is one of the discussions that we have with women we treat undergoing IVF.