A Comparison of Success Rates of Embryo Transfer on Weekdays and Weekends

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study is to examine the effect of the embryo transfer (ET) day on clinical pregnancy success rates in in vitro fertilization-ET (IVF-ET) cycles. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this retrospective study, we divided patients with infertility who underwent IVF-ET with fresh embryos into two groups depending on whether the ET was performed on weekdays or weekends. The main outcome measure was to compare the clinical pregnancy rates of patients with similar demographic and clinical characteristics who underwent ET on weekdays or weekends. RESULTS: A total of 188 patients underwent IVF-ET on weekdays (n=156) or weekends (n=32). Both groups had similar demographic and cycle characteristics. The overall pregnancy rate was 42.8%. Among the study groups, the weekday group had a 40.2% ET success rate and the weekend group had a 54.8% success rate (P=0.517). Although no statistically significant difference existed between the two groups, we observed an absolute 14.6% increase in pregnancy rate for ETs performed during weekends compared to those performed on weekdays, with a 35% statistical power. CONCLUSION: ETs performed during weekends were more successful than ETs performed during weekdays with an absolute 14.6% increase in clinical pregnancy rate. This finding should be confirmed by conducting further studies with larger groups of patients.