title: First Irish delivery following sequential, two-stage embryo and blastocyst transfer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The timing of embryo transfer (ET) after in vitro fertilisation (IVF) remains controversial, and there are no reliable guidelines available to prospectively identify which patients would benefit from either day-3 or blastocyst transfer. While blastocyst transfer is generally favoured over day-3 transfers, very few IVF patients get both in the same treatment cycle.
  
  
  METHODS
  We report on a 35.5-year-old female with tubal factor infertility who underwent IVF, which included transfer of a fresh day-3 embryo and a thawed blastocyst frozen at day 6. Transfer occurred on two separate days (days 3 and 6) in a two-stage/dual catheter fashion and resulted in a healthy term singleton livebirth.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  While combined day-3 and day-5 ET has been available elsewhere for several years, this is the first description of its successful application in Ireland and confirms the effectiveness of coordinated two-stage transfer in a single IVF treatment cycle.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, School of Medicine, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: L H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Hayrinen
authors.forename: E S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Sills
authors.forename: A O
authors.initials: AO
authors.lastname: Fogarty
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Walsh
authors.forename: A D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Lutsyk
authors.forename: A P H
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Walsh
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004624:Embryo Transfer; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro; D006801:Humans; D007494:Ireland; D050498:Live Birth; D011247:Pregnancy