One Egg, One Transfer, One Success: A 40-Year-Old Doctor's Complex IVF Journey
A Fertility Journey Filled with Challenges
Dana was 40 years old and a doctor herself. She understood medical risks clearly, which made her situation feel even heavier.
Her fertility condition was highly complex. After laparoscopic surgery, her left ovary had atrophied. She also had adenomyosis and adenomyoma, creating a difficult uterine environment. Both fallopian tubes were obstructed, and she had experienced an ectopic pregnancy as well as a later natural pregnancy that ended in miscarriage.
In addition, she faced advanced reproductive age, obesity, and extremely low ovarian reserve, with only one to two baseline follicles.
"It felt like every part related to pregnancy was working against me."
At another hospital, she was told that even IVF would be an extremely difficult case. Dana cried in the consultation room.
Ovarian atrophy · Adenomyosis · Bilateral tubal obstruction · Prior ectopic pregnancy · Miscarriage history
The Turning Point — Meeting Dr. Chen
Dana later found Dr. Chen from Reproductive Medicine. During the first ultrasound, Dr. Chen personally performed the examination.
After the scan, Dr. Chen was serious and direct. She told Dana that the situation was indeed very complex, but there was still hope to try.
For Dana, this honesty mattered. As a doctor herself, she could sense Dr. Chen's professionalism: every advantage and disadvantage was explained clearly, without unrealistic promises and without discouraging her from trying.
Instead of pushing Dana immediately into an IVF cycle, Dr. Chen asked her to spend three months preparing her body first.
- Advanced reproductive age
- Low ovarian reserve
- Poor uterine environment
- Previous pregnancy loss
- High emotional pressure
- Reproductive nutrition support for both partners
- Traditional medicine support such as moxibustion and acupuncture
- Mediterranean-style diet
- Early sleep and regular aerobic exercise
- Strict smoking and alcohol avoidance for her husband
"Those three months were the healthiest three months of my life."
— Dana
One Egg Retrieved — And a Decision Not to Give Up
After three months of preparation, Dana began her first egg retrieval cycle. Only one egg was retrieved.
It was a single precious egg. Dana had already prepared herself emotionally for the possibility of getting nothing.
On day three, the embryo report showed a 4-cell embryo. Many embryos at this stage are expected to be further along, so Dana felt discouraged.
Dr. Chen explained that because of age, egg division can sometimes be slower. She encouraged Dana to keep watching the embryo and not lose hope too early.
Dana decided not to accumulate embryos over many cycles. Given her ovarian reserve, embryo banking could take more than half a year. Instead, she chose to culture this one embryo to the blastocyst stage and proceed with transfer.
"With one egg, I opened the door to life."
A Personalized Plan That Worked Around Real Life
There was one unexpected episode during stimulation. Dana needed to fly to Hong Kong for an exam. She told Dr. Chen, expecting to be asked to give up the exam.
Instead, Dr. Chen adjusted the plan to an oral medication protocol, making the cycle more convenient. She asked Dana to focus on the exam, return to Beijing immediately afterward, and come for monitoring to confirm whether the follicle had ovulated.
After finishing the final exam, Dana rushed back to Beijing. The single follicle was still there. The team immediately started the egg retrieval process, connecting trigger and retrieval without delay.
Dana had multiple fertility challenges and only 1–2 baseline follicles.
Only one egg was retrieved, then cultured carefully toward blastocyst stage.
One transfer succeeded, turning a tiny possibility into real hope.
"Don't be trapped by success-rate numbers. Even a 1% possibility can bloom into 100% brilliance. Every egg is precious on a cosmic scale."
— Dana
Dana's story reminds patients not to delay fertility treatment unnecessarily, especially when ovarian reserve is already low. It also shows the importance of finding a physician who can create an individualized plan and help patients move forward scientifically, without false promises and without giving up too early.