Frozen Embryo Transfer

• Access to online consent platforms 
• Continued support through our Amelya patient app 
• Electronic Witnessing 
• Cycle planning 
• Embryo Thaw
• Embryo culture 
• EmbryoGlue
• Embryo transfer
• HFEA Licence Fee
• Pregnancy Scan 
• Follow-up consultation in the case of a failed cycle

In some cases a Frozen Embryo Transfer requires the use of hormonal medications, the addition of monitoring scans or blood tests throughout the duration of your treatment plan. These may incur additional fees. For more information on potential addtional costs, see our latest price list.

Our embryologists keep a record of the development of each of your embryos prior to freezing and give them a grade based on this. When we are prepping for your Frozen Embryo Transfer, our team will thaw the highest-graded embryo you currently have in storage to use for your procedure.

While the grading system helps embryologists to score and rank embryos in order of quality, we find little difference in success rates between the grades of embryos that pass our freezing threshold.  However we want to give every patient the best possible chance of having a successful pregnancy in the shortest time, which is why we use the highest-graded embryo first.

Embryo grades for blastocysts are made up of a number followed by 2 letters. The first number (1-6) describes the development stage, the two letters describe the quality of different sections of the embryo, the Inner Cell Mass (which becomes the foetus) and the Trophectoderm (which becomes the placenta and other tissues).

Embryo grading systems can be different at each clinic so researching ‘best embryo quality’ online or in forums might lead to different or worrying answers. At Manchester Fertility, we only freeze good quality embryos, so you can be assured that embryos frozen with our strict protocol have the highest chance of surviving freezing and giving you a successful outcome.Our grading system is based on the UK NEQAS grading scheme, which provides external quality assurance.

If you have questions about the grading of your embryos, you can contact our team via our patient app or call 0161 300 2730 to request a callback from one of our embryologists, who can explain your embryos in as much detail as you need.

We will always recommend using day 5 embryos, even if the grades seem a bit lower than any you have frozen on day 6, because our expert embryology team, with their years of experience, recognise embryos reaching good quality blastocyst on day 5 as a good sign of developmental potential.

There is no evidence to suggest that day 6 embryos won’t result in a successful pregnancy, so if your day 5 embryos have all been transferred, our team will move on to day 6 embryos.

The whole thawing process takes about an hour and a half from start to finish. The first part of this process, removing the embryos from the Cryobank and placing them in the incubator, takes about 15 to 20 minutes.

During the rest of the time, your embryos will be closely monitored inside our incubators. After approximately an hour in the incubator, our expert embryologist will be able to assess how well your embryo has handled the thawing process.

The Frozen Embryo Transfer appointment time is 20 minutes, but the actual transfer takes about 10 minutes from start to finish.

It’s a straightforward and quick procedure, meaning the embryo isn't out of the incubator for very long.

Often, a Frozen Embryo transfer is compared to a smear test, so uncomfortable rather than painful. Some of our patients say it’s actually not as painful as a smear test because our team want to do things as gently and carefully as possible.

The vast majority of people don’t need any pain relief for embryo transfer as it’s usually very well tolerated, but if you are worried about pain levels, our team can help advise on how you can prepare for the appointment.

After your transfer, it is normal to feel cautious for the safety of the embryo. Frozen embryos are no different to fresh embryos once they have survived the thaw and are transferred.

Whether you rest, or carry on with your daily routine won’t affect the outcome of your treatment.  If you have specific questions about your work, travel plans etc. please ask the team during your treatment.

From a scientific point of view, when an embryo is transferred back inside the body, it has a bit more growing to do before it implants around day 7.

Only after the embryo has implanted and started producing pregnancy hormones at a high enough level to be picked up in the blood or urine can we confirm pregnancy with a test.

This is why we ask patients to wait two weeks to take an at home test to confirm pregnancy.

When your embryos are kept in our storage, they are cryopreserved at -196°C. Biologically, this is very safe, and their quality or chance of success won’t change for many years.

Legally, in most situations, you can actually store your embryos for up to 55 years - but every 10 years that your embryos stay in our storage, you will need to renew your consent for us to keep them in our Cryobank.