#156 : Patient Decision Making and Trends in Embryo Disposal

Abstract

Background and Aims: Embryo cryopreservation is common in IVF, allowing for surplus embryos to be utilised in subsequent cycles. As such, for a variety of reasons, patients may need to contend with embryo disposition decisions. This study looked at trends surrounding patient decisions to dispose of cryopreserved embryos. Method: A retrospective study was conducted on the consented embryo disposals of 230 patients between 2019 and 2023. Variables analysed included number of live births, number of embryos for disposal, embryo mosaicism, and reasons behind the decision to dispose of their embryos. The length of time between the date the consent was signed and the last IVF cycle, IVF live birth and initial contact with the clinic was also established. Results: A large proportion of patients (43.9%) did not specify why they chose to discard their embryos, however of those who did, there were three main categories (embryos reaching their expiry (27.9%), the return of mosaic PGT results (24.0%), and patients completing their family (22.5%). Of the 57 patients who chose to discard after being contacted regarding their embryo expiry, 19.3% initially chose to extend their storage before opting to discard. Surprisingly, only 62.2% of patients had at least one live birth prior to submitting their disposal consent, and waited, on average, 1.6 years from the date of their most recent live birth to discard. Furthermore, there was an average of 1.8 years between patients’ last IVF cycle and the decision to discard, with an average of 86.5 days elapsing from the point of initial contact with the clinic until the date the disposal consent was signed. Conclusion: Many patients retain their embryos in storage until their expiry, and this point of contact prompts them to make decisions regarding the disposition of their biomaterial, and the reasons behind discard decisions are not solely associated with achieving a live birth.