IVF Without Freezing Embryos: What to Know

After eggs are collected and fertilised in the laboratory, the fertility team may plan a fresh embryo transfer. The embryo is placed in the uterus after the lining has been prepared and the timing of ovulation or hormone treatment has been assessed. There is no storage step before that transfer.

A fresh transfer may be discussed when the uterine lining and hormone pattern are suitable in the same cycle. Freezing every embryo is not required for IVF, but a clinic may recommend freezing instead if the lining is not ready, hormone levels suggest a different timing, or embryos need to be tested before transfer. The choice depends on your response to medication, embryo development, and the plan agreed with your specialist.

Ask which transfer day is being considered, how the uterine lining will be assessed, and what would make the team change from a fresh transfer to freezing. Confirm which medicines to take, when to take them, and whether activity or intercourse needs to be limited around the procedure.

Keep taking prescribed medicines unless your fertility team changes the plan. Arrange a practical way home if sedation is used for a related procedure, and make sure you know when the pregnancy test is scheduled. A fresh transfer does not create embryos for later use, so ask what happens to any suitable embryos that are not transferred.

Contact your fertility clinic promptly for heavy bleeding, severe or worsening pelvic pain, faintness, fever, breathing difficulty, or marked abdominal swelling after ovarian stimulation or embryo transfer. Urgent assessment is also needed for sudden chest pain or one-sided leg swelling. These symptoms can have causes unrelated to the transfer, but they should not be assessed at home.

Call the clinic if vomiting prevents you from keeping medicines down, or if you are unsure whether to continue a prescribed drug. Follow the clinic's instructions for the pregnancy test even if you have spotting, because bleeding alone cannot confirm whether implantation occurred.

Useful questions include: Is a fresh transfer appropriate for my hormone levels and uterine lining? What are the reasons you might cancel or postpone it? Will any embryos be frozen, and how will that decision be made? Which symptoms should prompt a same-day call?