Journal Club
Every week, we pick a recent fertility study and break it down: what the researchers found, what the numbers actually mean, and what it changes for patients. Real papers from real journals. No spin.
Polygenic Embryo Screening (PGT-P): What the Science Says vs. What Companies Are Selling
PGT-P promises to score embryos for intelligence, height, and disease risk. Every major medical society says it's not ready. Companies charge $50,000 anyway. Here's what patients need to know.
First Clinical Outcomes from Mitochondrial Donation: 8 Babies Born via Three-Parent IVF
Newcastle's first clinical results from mitochondrial donation (pronuclear transfer) show 8 live births from 22 women. Heteroplasmy, complications, expert debate, and what it means for patients with mtDNA mutations.
Egg Freezing: Only 5.7% of Women Return to Use Their Frozen Eggs Within 7 Years
A SART database study tracking up to 16,436 patients finds that only 5.7% returned for egg warming within 5-7 years. Of those who did, the cumulative live birth rate was 28.9%. For every 100 women who freeze, roughly 2 have a baby from those eggs within this window.
Time-Lapse Imaging Doesn't Improve IVF Live Birth Rates: The TILT Trial
A three-arm randomized trial of 1,575 patients found no improvement in live birth rates from time-lapse incubation or time-lapse embryo selection versus standard care. Live birth rates: 33.7% vs 36.6% vs 33.0%. None of the differences were significant.
AI vs Embryologists: A Trial Funded by the AI Manufacturer Found Its Own Product Didn't Work
The iDAScore trial randomized 1,066 patients across 14 clinics to test whether AI can pick embryos as well as trained embryologists. It couldn't. The AI was faster, but noninferiority was not demonstrated, and frozen transfer outcomes were significantly worse.
ICSI vs IVF: A Trial of 824 Women Found No Benefit Without Severe Male Factor
The INVICSI trial randomized 824 women across 6 Danish clinics and found ICSI does not improve live birth rates over conventional IVF when sperm quality is normal. ICSI may actually harm outcomes in women under 32.
Fresh vs Frozen Donor Eggs: Does It Matter?
A study of 507 patients finds no significant difference in live birth rates between fresh and frozen donor egg cycles. 58.9% vs 56.7%. But one approach carries a higher risk of large babies.
Can Your First hCG Blood Test Predict IVF Success?
A meta-analysis of 12 studies finds that initial beta-hCG levels after single embryo transfer can predict clinical pregnancy with 91% sensitivity and 89% specificity.
About this series. Journal Club is a standard format in medical education: a group reads a paper, then discusses what it means in practice. Ours is written for patients, not clinicians. We source from peer-reviewed journals (Nature Medicine, The Lancet, NEJM, Human Reproduction, Fertility and Sterility) and link every paper so you can read it yourself.