Squeeze and Freeze, A Periodic Consecutive Oocyte Retrieval Method for Poor Ovarian Responders, Increases the Chance of Childbearing

Author(s): Yasutaka Murata, Fumika Oda, Miki Shirai, Nanako Sato, Atsuko Sugita, Tomoko Murata

Purpose: To assess if consecutive oocyte retrieval (OR) of more than three times for poor ovarian responders could be an effective method to obtain competent embryos becoming babies.

Methods: To maximize the chances of pregnancy for refractory infertile women, we designed a new treatment course, “Squeeze and freeze(SF).” In this method, ovarian stimulation was initiated whenever the antral follicle was visible using ultrasound, regardless of the menstrual cycle stage for 3 months, aiming to get highest number of oocytes and competent embryos for subsequent transfer. Eighty-eight patients underwent 101 treatment courses, in which retrievals at an average of 4.8 times were performed for 3 months. The clinical results and obstetric outcomes were retrospectively reviewed.

Results: The ratio of matured oocytes, 2PN embryos, available embryos, fair blastocysts per oocyte, and number of available embryos or fair blastocysts per retrieval did not differ between the two initial and later attempts. Similarly, no significant differences were observed in these parameters between the follicular- and luteal-phase retrievals. After subse-quent embryo transfer, 62 patients achieved clinical pregnancy, 49 had an ongoing pregnancy, 47 deliv-ered healthy babies.

Conclusion: Periodic consecutive OR, more than three consecutive ORs, including luteal-phase ORs, is an efficient infertility treatment for refractory women.