Beneficial effect of autologous endometrial cell coculture in patients with repeated implantation failure

Abstract

Objective: To confirm the beneficial effect of endometrial coculture in patients with repeated failures with assisted reproductive techniques (ART).

Design: Patients with previous failures were offered a repetition of ART in conjunction with autologous endometrial coculture.

Setting: Private fertility center.

Patient(s): Sixty-eight couples who had attempted 92 cycles of IVF or intracytoplasmic sperm injection without obtaining an evolutive pregnancy.

Intervention(s): Patients repeated one cycle of ART with concomitant endometrial coculture of their embryos.

Main outcome measures(s): Comparative pregnancy and delivery rates in conventional ART cycles vs. cycles with autologous endometrial coculture.

Result(s): In the previous 92 cycles (146 ETs, fresh plus frozen) only 8 pregnancies were initiated, and all ended in spontaneous abortion. Upon repeating 68 cycles (76 ETs) using coculture, 39 pregnancies were obtained, of which 19 resulted in live births, 10 are ongoing evolutive pregnancies, and 10 ended in spontaneous abortions.

Conclusion(s): These results confirm the usefulness of autologous endometrial coculture for the treatment of patients with repeated implantation failure.