One Egg, One Hope

For one couple undergoing fertility treatment in Kuwait, the numbers were small from the beginning.

They had been experiencing infertility for around four years. The woman was 39 years old and had a low ovarian reserve, while her husband had male-factor fertility issues.

They underwent IVF treatment using ICSI.

After ovarian stimulation and egg retrieval, there wasn't a collection of eggs to work with.

There was just one.

For anyone who has been through IVF, that moment can carry a lot of emotion. Treatment often becomes centred around numbers: how many follicles are growing, how many eggs are retrieved, how many are mature, how many fertilise and how many embryos continue developing.

For this couple, every stage depended on that single egg.

Fortunately, the egg retrieved was mature and suitable for ICSI. A single sperm was injected into it, and the following day came the news they had been hoping for:

The egg had fertilised.

The embryo continued developing. By Day 2 it had reached the four-cell stage, and by Day 3 it had developed into an eight-cell embryo.

With no other embryos available, that single embryo was transferred.

Then came another wait.

The pregnancy test was positive.

At approximately seven weeks, an ultrasound showed a pregnancy with a fetal heartbeat. When the case was subsequently published, the pregnancy had progressed to 24 weeks without reported complications. Their story doesn't mean that one egg will always result in pregnancy. Unfortunately, many eggs do not fertilise, many embryos stop developing, and embryo transfer does not guarantee pregnancy.

But their experience is a reminder of something that can sometimes become lost amongst all the numbers involved in fertility treatment:

Sometimes, one egg can still represent a chance.

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PLEASE NOTE

Every fertility story is different.

This story has been curated from a published case report and reflects one couple's individual experience. It is shared for education and awareness and should not be interpreted as medical advice or as an indication of what another person's fertility journey will look like.

Reference

Sciorio, R., Angelaki, E., Al-Azemi, N. & Elmardi, A. (2021). One follicle, one egg, one embryo: a case-report of successful pregnancy obtained from a single oocyte collected. JBRA Assisted Reproduction, 25(2), 314–317.