INTRAVENOUS IMMUNOGLOBULIN PRECEDING IN-VITRO FERTILIZATION-EMBRYO TRANSFER FOR PATIENTS WITH REPEATED FAILURE OF EMBRYO-TRANSFER

Objective: To determine the effectiveness of immunotherapy with high-d ose IV immunoglobulin preceding IVF-ET for patients with repeated fail ure of ET. Design: Prospective, observational. Setting: Assisted Repro duction Unit of the Hospital Clinic i Provincial in Barcelona, a terti ary care setting. Patients: Twelve consecutive tubal infertility patie nts experiencing repeated unexplained IVF-ET failure including at leas t three ETs replacing three to four fresh embryos each. Two women shar ed three or more human leukocyte antigens (HLA) with the husband. Inte rvention: During the subsequent new IVF-ET cycle, each patient receive d 400 mg/kg IV immunoglobulin daily for 5 days during ovarian stimulat ion, that is, 5 to 7 days before ET. Main Outcome Measures: Clinical p regnancies. Results: No implantation occurred. There were no side effe cts. Conclusions: High-dose IV immunoglobulin is not a useful tool for IVF-ET failure.