In vitro fertilization outcomes after fresh and frozen blastocyst transfer in South Asian compared with Caucasian women

Objective To study pregnancy outcomes between South Asian and Caucasian women undergoing frozen blastocyst transfer cycles. Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting Not applicable. Patient(s) Caucasian and South Asian patients undergoing frozen blastocyst transfer between January 2011 and December 2014. Intervention(s) Not applicable. Main Outcome Measure(s) Live birth rate. Result(s) A total of 196 Caucasian and 117 South Asian women were included in our study. Indians were on average 2.2 years younger than Caucasian women (34.9 vs. 37.1 years), and were more likely to be nulliparous (59% vs. 43%). All other baseline characteristics were similar. In women undergoing their first frozen ET cycle, implantation rate (49% vs. 47%), clinical pregnancy rate (PR; 54% vs. 49%), and live birth rate (43% vs. 43%) were similar between South Asians and Caucasians, respectively. In patients who underwent a prior fresh blastocyst transfer, the live birth rate was significantly lower in South Asian versus Caucasian women (21% vs. 37%). Conclusion(s) Our data demonstrate that IVF outcomes are better in frozen versus fresh cycles among South Asian women. The IVF clinics may wish to consider these findings when counseling South Asian patients about the timing of ET.