#191 : Embryo Quality, But Not Direct Cleavage, Reverse Cleavage or Multinucleation is the Most Important Parameter Affecting the Live Birth Rate After Frozen Single Embryo Transfer

Abstract

Background and aims: Is there any chance for an embryo having one of these types of abnormal cleavage including direct cleavage (DC), reverse cleavage (RC) or multinucleation can result in a healthy baby? The answer is still unclear and there are very few reports about this. In this study, we used a time-lapse (TL) monitoring system to identify whether there was a phenomenon of DC, RC or multinucleation in the developmental duration of blastocysts that were transferred in frozen cycles. And then we evaluated and compared the live birth rate in these cases. Materials and Methods: This study retrospectively reviewed 192 cases of embryo culture in TL system and subsequently transferred for the first time in frozen single blastocyst transfer cycles from November 2019 to June 2022. There were 2 groups: group I (83 cases) included patients with euploid blastocyst transfer and group II (109 cases) included patients with non-PGTA blastocyst transfer. In this study, the live birth rate (LBR) after transferring embryos with or without DC, RC and multinucleation were investigated and compared in each group. Results: In both of groups, there was no difference in the LBR of embryo transfers with DR, RC, multinucleation and embryo transfers without DC, RC, multinucleation (p>0.05, chi-square test). In group I, the LBR in cases of good blastocyst transfer (grade 1) was statistically higher than that in cases of grade 3 blastocyst transfer (64.8% (35/54) versus 11.1% (1/9), p<0.05, chi-square test. In group II, the LBR in cases of good blastocyst transfer (grade 1) was higher than that in cases of grade 3 blastocyst transfer but not significantly (53.1% (43/81) versus 40% (4/10), p>0.05, chi-square test). Conclusion: In PGTA group and non-PGTA group, the live birth rates after frozen single blastocyst transfer were similar between the cases of blastocyst transfer with DC, RC, multinucleation and the cases of blastocyst transfer without DC, RC, multinucleation. A higher live birth rate following good quality blastocyst transfer than poor quality blastocyst transfer in both groups.