Patient Profile
- Woman with 8 years of infertility history
- Over 15 previous IVF attempts
- Most of the efforts had been made in a unit of her relative
- There had also been attempts at other units in Athens
- The last 6 attempts before our own involvement were with egg donation
- The last 2 attempts were with egg donation and sperm donation
effort history
The couple had already gone through an extremely long and soul-destroying course of infertility.
For 8 years they had gone through more than 15 IVF attempts, with a gradual escalation of the therapeutic approach.
At first attempts were made with their own capabilities, then with donating eggs, and finally by donating both eggs and sperm.
Despite this complete change of strategy, pregnancy had not been achieved.
The couple's disappointment and anxiety were evident from the first moment.
clinical challenge
The incident was particularly demanding not only medically, but also psychologically.
When a couple has already made more than 15 attempts, has used egg donation, and then egg and sperm donation to no avail, the feeling of failure becomes very heavy.
In such cases, the difficulty is not only to design the next cycle.
The real challenge is to re-evaluate from the beginning if there is something that has escaped, if the approach can change substantially, and if the next attempt has real meaning.
First efforts with us
The first attempt made with us was by donating eggs.
It did not lead to pregnancy.
The second attempt was made by donating eggs and donating sperm.
And she was a failure.
After these failures, the couple's disappointment became even greater.
Their confidence in the possibility of success was almost exhausted.
Seeking a solution abroad
In this climate, the couple turned to a well-known American unit for an egg donation program.
This decision shows how strong their need to find a different solution was, even if it meant travel, a great financial burden and several months of waiting.
They had to travel twice to America for exams and talk with the unit.
They finally entered the waiting list, with the prospect of making the effort in the next 6 to 9 months.
To join the program they had to pay an advance of 15% of the total fee, an amount corresponding to 7,000 dollars, while the rest would be paid gradually until the end of the effort.
Continuing efforts in Greece
Despite the parallel search for a solution abroad and their inclusion in a program of an American unit, the couple continued in between their efforts with us in Greece.
This shows that, despite the disappointment, there was still a small but essential mood not to waste any more time.
In such incidents, every effort must be planned with utmost care, because the couple does not just bear another failure; it already carries the burden of all the previous ones.
Diagnostic & Therapeutic Approach
- Complete reassessment of history
- Detailed evaluation of previous IVF cycles
- Strategy review after failures with egg donation and sperm donation
- Personalized new effort design
- Careful preparation of embryo transfer
- Continuous support of the couple in a period of intense doubt and mental fatigue
The approach could not be based on a simple repetition of previous schemas.
It needed re-evaluation, perseverance and adaptation of the treatment to the real data of the couple.
IVF Strategy
The strategy was based on personalization and the effort to optimize any parameter that could affect the outcome.
In cases with multiple failures, even when donating eggs or donating sperm, success does not depend only on the genetic material.
They may play a key role:
- The preparation of the endometrium
- Synchronization of embryo transfer
- The quality of the embryos
- The overall medical strategy
- Careful monitoring
- Avoiding standardized repetition of failed approaches
Result
In the following efforts made in Greece, while the couple was already waiting for an egg donation program in America, a pregnancy was achieved.
The pregnancy was twin.
The patient gave birth to two healthy girls.
After 8 years of infertility, more than 15 IVF attempts, failures with egg donation, failures with egg and sperm donation, and while he had already turned to a solution abroad, the result finally came here.
clinical conclusions
- Repeated IVF failures should not automatically lead to a simple change of country or unit without substantial reassessment
- Even egg donation or sperm donation does not guarantee success unless all other parameters are evaluated
- Preparation of the endometrium and the correct synchronization of the embryo transfer can be decisive
- In couples with many failures, psychological support and maintaining realistic hope are just as important as the medical plan
- The personalized approach can change course even when advanced solutions have failed
- The search for a solution abroad is often an expression of despair, but the essence lies in the correct diagnosis and the right planning
Final message
There are couples who, after so many efforts, are not just looking for a cure.
They are looking for a reason to believe that they have not yet reached the end.
In this incident, the route had reached America, with great financial and emotional sacrifices.
And yet, success finally came through the next efforts in Greece.
Two children were born where the couple had almost stopped waiting.
And this reminds us that in difficult cases, the solution is not always further away.
Sometimes he finds himself in the right reassessment, detail and insistence that no incident be treated as "finished".
