Our program strongly advises single embryo transfer for patients who are good candidates.
A significant proportion of our patients would be considered good candidates and, as a result, we perform single embryo transfer in a high proportion (>80%) of our IVF cycles currently. Good candidates for single embryo transfer include women younger than 35 years of age, those undergoing their first IVF cycle and those with high-quality embryos.
Even patients who have less favorable initial characteristics (i.e., older, prior failed IVF cycles) may also be considered good candidates for single embryo transfer if they choose to utilize preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) of their embryos to rule out chromosomal abnormalities.
Advantages of single embryo transfer include comparable pregnancy rates without the risks associated with twins. Single embryo transfer results in a dramatic decline in the twin rate, although twinning after single embryo transfer can still occur rarely (in about 1-2%).
