Any successes of IVf over age 45?

[maps]

Hi all

I have a friend who married late in life and has been trying to get pregnant for several years. She had done IUI and IVF with no success in her early 40s and then took a break because of cost.

Now she is ready to try again but because she is 45, no clinic will even give her an appointment.She says her eggs are of good quality and quantity so does not want to try donor eggs right now.

Does anyone have any suggestions of clinics that she can look into? Thanks in advance.

 

[bdcp]

It's unlikely that her eggs are of good quality or quantity at 45. It doesn't matter how young you feel, look or how good of shape you are in. 45 year old eggs are flat out old. Odds of it working with her own eggs are extremely low, probably less than 10%. If it didn't work in her early 40's, the odds are really against her now. Do 45 year olds get pregnant, yes, but it's just not that common and the miscarriage rate is high. Usually 45 year olds who get pregnant have already had successful pregnancies. I think most clinics draw the line at someone who is 45 trying to use their own eggs. Donor eggs are more likely.

 

[DisneyScraps]

My DD is an IVF baby. We say that 40 is the new 20 or whatever they saying is but the possibility of birth defects increases greatly with older women. I was 34 1/2 when I had my DD and I was taking a big chance. At that time it was anyone over 35.

I wish your friend luck with her journey. It's not an easy one!

 

[Hillbeans]

She says her eggs are of good quality and quantity so does not want to try donor eggs right now.

That may have been true at 40, but not likely at 45.

She will most likely have to travel to a major city (NY, NJ, Chicago) to find someone willing to give her another try.

 

[maps]

Thanks for the responses.

She is willing to pay and take her chances with lack of success and even birth defects if that's what her fate is. I guess I'm surprised a clinic isn't even willing to try if that's the case.

 

[sookie]

they have to test each embryo for quality and the eggs for quality too (I think). They won't implant an embryo that has known defects. But the changes of getting a "good egg" from a 45 year old is so low...

she would have great success at even getting an appointment if she was ok with using donor eggs.

 

[NEM]

I had successful IVF at 39 & 40 - (first try with both)...but tried for a year (5 times) at 42 and it never happened again for me...if she was not successful at an early age, then it is not likely. However, it is also her money to spend as she likes. So, here is my advice...

Have her google mini IVF - reportedly has success rates for the older mom - particularly Infertility Center of St Louis which has a great article about it and how it works

I know my doctor would definitely do a consult with her, but may advise donor eggs...he is at Care Fertility in Glendale, CA (outside LA)

Apart from that, I wish her much luck. I understand not wanting to move to donor eggs, but she has to be realistic that she may spend a lot of money and not get her wish.

 

[Hillbeans]

Thanks for the responses.

She is willing to pay and take her chances with lack of success and even birth defects if that's what her fate is. I guess I'm surprised a clinic isn't even willing to try if that's the case.

I have a little inside knowledge, and it's a numbers game...clinics want to have a high % of success, and the odds are just low that a 45 year old woman would get PG using her own eggs. It isn't fair, I know.

 

[maps]

Hillbeans--it's funny you should say that because that was exactly what my friend said!

NEM--i just looked into the mini IVF and I'm going to pass that info along--sounds like something that she might be interested in

Thanks

 

[deegack]

She should contact Cornell in NYC or CCRM in Denver asap. They are the two best fertility clinics in the country if not the world. Their SART numbers aren't at good as other clinics but they take the hard cases. If I was to start up fertility treatments again, I wouldn't mess around and would go right to one of them (probably Cornell because its closer).

Good luck to her.

 

[lemondog]

I have a little inside knowledge, and it's a numbers game...clinics want to have a high % of success, and the odds are just low that a 45 year old woman would get PG using her own eggs. It isn't fair, I know.

Exactly.

Like the others said she should call around, she may have to travel but hopefully she will find a clinic willing to work with her.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

And will she like having a teenager (or more than one) in the house when she is in her 60's????!!

 

[deegack]

And will she like having a teenager (or more than one) in the house when she is in her 60's????!!

I am sure she has thought of the ramifications of her fertlity treatments. You don't waste that amount of time, money, blood, sweat and tears without running through all the possible outcomes. And ivf treatments have a much lower rate of high order multiples than other treatments.
If she was a 45 year old man this would not be an issue. If she had gotten pregnant without treatments also not an issue.

 

[NEM]

I am sure she has thought of the ramifications of her fertlity treatments. You don't waste that amount of time, money, blood, sweat and tears without running through all the possible outcomes. And ivf treatments have a much lower rate of high order multiples than other treatments.
If she was a 45 year old man this would not be an issue. If she had gotten pregnant without treatments also not an issue.

Agree!~!!

As a 42 year old in her shoes...I am sure she has done the math more times that you can remind her. I know I have.

 

[chloelovesdisney]

I think her chance of success is low due to the fact that she was unsuccessful with IVF in her early 40's and her egg quality has only decreased since that time. I agree with the pp, if she wants to give it her best chance I would go to CRMI (Cornell) in NYC or CRMI in Denver.

I would also suggest acupuncture and that she cut out caffeine and alcohol.

It's a tough road, I wish your friend the best.

 

[tlbwriter]

they have to test each embryo for quality and the eggs for quality too (I think).

That's not true. They CAN test embryos for CERTAIN defects, and eggs have to meet a certain standard, but there is no clinic that tests all embryos, and a lower quality embryo may be transferred if they think it has a chance.

I have a little inside knowledge, and it's a numbers game...clinics want to have a high % of success, and the odds are just low that a 45 year old woman would get PG using her own eggs. It isn't fair, I know.

Yes, this is actually not much of a secret. However, many clinics break down their stats by age, so if you check their websites, you can find those who are willing to work with older patients using their own eggs.

She should contact Cornell in NYC or CCRM in Denver asap.

Ironically, Dr. Schoolcraft (at CCRM) was considered a "cherry picker" back in my day (10-15 years ago) and was known for not taking any patients unless they were excellent candidates, which is why his numbers were the highest at the time.

 

[bellarella]

She should look at the CDCs ART reports. http://www.cdc.gov/art/ARTReports.htm

The reports break down clinic statistics. She will be able to see what clinics take on women in their 40s. The CDC does not track statistic for women over 44 who don't use donor eggs. Unfortunately, the percent of women in this age group who have a live birth is only about 1%.

Clinics cherry-picking patients is a result of consumer demand. People looking for clinics of course want to go to successful ones. Success is seen as how many people become pregnant. Unfortunately, popular media makes it seem like IVF is "easy" so people don't generally think about how low the chances really are. People also tend to think that their chances will be better than average.

IVF is really an amazing process. Unfortunately, it is not a cure all and the number one thing it cannot fix is old eggs. I wish your friend luck. This has to be a very trying time for her.

 

[Tinkermommy]

She should look at the CDCs ART reports. http://www.cdc.gov/art/ARTReports.htm

The reports break down clinic statistics. She will be able to see what clinics take on women in their 40s. The CDC does not track statistic for women over 44 who don't use donor eggs. Unfortunately, the percent of women in this age group who have a live birth is only about 1%.

Clinics cherry-picking patients is a result of consumer demand. People looking for clinics of course want to go to successful ones. Success is seen as how many people become pregnant. Unfortunately, popular media makes it seem like IVF is "easy" so people don't generally think about how low the chances really are. People also tend to think that their chances will be better than average.

IVF is really an amazing process. Unfortunately, it is not a cure all and the number one thing it cannot fix is old eggs. I wish your friend luck. This has to be a very trying time for her.

I agree. People want to go to the doctor with the highest success rate so the doctor chooses only "easy" candidates to work with.

I was 37 when I gave birth to my son and 32 with my daughter. I can tell you those 5 years made a big difference in my pregnancies. I had more "issues" with my son's pregnancy.

My doctor was saying that since I was of "advanced maternal age (which is 35 and older" this was likely the cause. Then he mentioned that advanced paternal age is 50. My husband still lords that over me.

I wish your friend luck.