Utilization of GnRH agonists for poor responders in an IVF programme

Thirty-four patients in whom conventional ovarian stimulation had previously failed twice due to low levels of oestradiol, received ovarian stimulation by pure FSH for 5 days, followed by a combination of FSH and HMG, after a preliminary period of pituitary de-sensitization with LHRH agonist. Oocytes were recovered from 33 patients and 28 embryos replaced, 10 became pregnant and eight pregnancies were ongoing and resulted in the birth of 13 healthy babies. This ongoing pregnancy rate of 23.5% per treatment cycle is identical to that reported for normally responding patients. The use of LHRH agonists in so-called poor responders is of obvious interest.