Blastocyst transfer for all? Higher cumulative live birth chance in a blastocyst-stage transfer policy compared to a...

In an unselected patient population, what is the cumulative live birth rate per oocyte collection cycle in a blastocyst-stage transfer policy compared to a cleavage-stage transfer policy?

A retrospective cohort analysis of 1656 IVF and ICSI cycles was performed in two timeframes between January 2010 and December 2016. Transfer was scheduled, either on day 3 (n=729) or on day 5 (n=927). In this study, the main outcome measure was cumulative live birth rate per oocyte collection cycle including fresh and frozen embryo transfers in both groups.

The cumulative live birth rates per oocyte collection cycle were comparable between patients with cleavage-stage transfers (day 3 group) and those with blastocyst-stage transfers (day 5 group) (23.7% versus 25.5%, respectively; p = 0.42). After controlling for confounders, there was a 34% increased chance of live birth with blastocyst-stage transfer policy compared with cleavage-stage transfer policy (odds ratio (OR) =1.34; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.051 to 1.704; p = 0.018).

In an unselected patient cohort, the cumulative live birth chance per oocyte collection cycle is higher in a blastocyst-stage transfer policy compared to a cleavage-stage transfer policy.