Do weekend oocyte retrievals have an impact on the intracytoplasmic sperm injection cycles outcome?

Despite the fact that ovarian stimulation is controlled, it is not always predictable. Because the day of human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) injection depends mainly on the patient's ovarian response to gonadotrophins, the day of oocyte retrieval cannot be determined in advance. As a result, oocyte retrievals are often scheduled to occur on weekends, a fact that entails at least one extra working day for the staff, and could lead to physical and psychological stress, especially in embryologists. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) outcomes are influenced by the day of oocyte retrieval.

A total of 327 ICSI cycles, whose retrievals were performed on Wednesdays and Sundays, were analysed in this retrospective study. Cycles were subdivided into two groups according to the day of oocyte retrieval: group W (n = 196), cycles in which oocyte retrieval was performed on Wednesday; and group S (n = 131), cycles in which oocyte retrieval was performed on Sunday. Groups were compared regarding fertilization, implantation, pregnancy and take-home baby rates.

No significant differences were observed between groups A and B regarding fertilization rate (68.9% and 72.5%; p = 0.1589), implantation rate (21.8% and 24.3%; p = 0.5714), pregnancy rate (29.9% and 31.6%; p = 0.7129) and take-home baby rate (23.6% and 28.1%; p = 0.4351).

A well-trained embryologist's group adhering to staff scheduling allows large programmes to ensure a similar outcome independent of the workload or workday on which embryologists perform the manipulation of gametes.