You may be hearing about cytoplasmic transfer for the first time because your fertility specialist has mentioned it. You may have come across it while researching IVF treatments yourself. Or you may be looking at different options after a previous IVF cycle.
Whichever has brought you here, you probably have some very practical questions: Why has cytoplasmic transfer been suggested? Is it the same as using donor eggs? Does it involve donor DNA? And how do doctors decide who it may be suitable for?
Cytoplasmic transfer is a specialised laboratory technique used alongside IVF and ICSI. A small amount of cytoplasm from a donor egg is transferred into the patient's own egg. It is considered selectively, and the evidence around its effectiveness and longer-term outcomes remains limited.
Here, we answer the questions patients commonly have when they begin researching cytoplasmic transfer.
Yes, cytoplasmic transfer may be considered after an unsuccessful IVF cycle in selected cases. Having an unsuccessful cycle does not, however, automatically mean it will be suitable for your next one.
Your fertility team will first want to understand what happened throughout the previous cycle. This may include how your ovaries responded to stimulation, the eggs retrieved, fertilisation, how the embryos developed and what happened following embryo transfer.
There are many possible reasons an IVF cycle may not result in pregnancy. Looking at the whole cycle helps your team understand what may be relevant to your next treatment and whether cytoplasmic transfer is appropriate to discuss.
Doctors may review your ovarian response, the number and maturity of eggs retrieved, fertilisation and how your embryos developed.
Your embryology report can be particularly useful because it records what happened in the laboratory after egg retrieval and fertilisation.
Your previous cycle is considered alongside the rest of your fertility history, including your age, ovarian reserve, fertility diagnosis and any other factors relevant to your treatment.
If you have your previous IVF and embryology reports, bringing or sharing them with your fertility team can help with this review.
Yes, what happened during embryo development in a previous IVF cycle may be relevant when your fertility team plans another cycle.
Embryologists observe how embryos develop after fertilisation. If there were concerns during this stage in a previous cycle, those observations can be reviewed alongside your other treatment information.
However, embryo development is influenced by several factors. A particular pattern in one previous cycle does not by itself mean that cytoplasmic transfer will be recommended.
Because cytoplasmic transfer is a specialised technique with limited clinical evidence, it is considered selectively rather than routinely added to IVF treatment.
If it has been mentioned to you, it is reasonable to ask why it is being considered in your case. Your fertility team should be able to explain what they have seen in your fertility assessment or previous treatment history, what they hope to address and what the limitations of the technique are.
Yes. Cytoplasmic transfer uses your own egg.
A small amount of cytoplasm from a donor egg is introduced into your egg during the laboratory procedure. Your egg remains the egg that is subsequently used as part of the IVF process.
This is an important distinction between cytoplasmic transfer and donor egg IVF.
With cytoplasmic transfer, your own egg is used. With donor egg IVF, the egg used to create the embryo comes from a donor.
During cytoplasmic transfer, only a small amount of cytoplasm from a donor egg is transferred into the patient's egg.
If cytoplasmic transfer has recently been suggested to you, this distinction can understandably be confusing. It does notmean that you are undergoing donor egg IVF.
Cytoplasmic transfer may introduce a small amount of mitochondrial DNA from the donor.
Most of the genetic information in an egg is contained in its nucleus. With cytoplasmic transfer, the patient's own egg and nuclear DNA are retained.
However, the donor cytoplasm can contain mitochondria. Mitochondria have a small amount of their own genetic material, called mitochondrial DNA.
If you are considering cytoplasmic transfer and have questions about what this means genetically, ask your fertility specialist to explain this distinction as part of your treatment discussion.
Mitochondria are structures inside our cells that help produce the energy cells need to function. Eggs contain large numbers of mitochondria within their cytoplasm.
Because cytoplasmic transfer introduces a small amount of donor cytoplasm into the patient's egg, mitochondria present within that cytoplasm may also be transferred.
Mitochondria are therefore an important part of understanding both the scientific thinking behind cytoplasmic transfer and some of the questions researchers continue to study about the technique.
We do not currently have enough high-quality evidence to say that cytoplasmic transfer will improve IVF success rates for an individual patient.
Pregnancies and births following cytoplasmic transfer have been reported, but research remains limited. There is no reliable success percentage that can be applied to everyone considering the procedure.
If cytoplasmic transfer has been recommended to you, ask what your fertility team hopes it may address in yourtreatment and how the available evidence applies to your circumstances.
The main limitation is that cytoplasmic transfer has not been studied as extensively as established fertility treatments such as IVF and ICSI.
There are still questions about its effectiveness, which patients may benefit from it and its longer-term implications.
This does not mean that every patient should rule it out. It means the decision should be individual, with a clear discussion about why it is being considered, what is known about the technique and where evidence is still limited.
Yes. If you are considering travelling to India for IVF, you can begin the conversation about cytoplasmic transfer before making your trip.
You may have had the procedure suggested by another doctor, come across it during your own research, or want to know whether it could be relevant after previous IVF treatment.
If you have had IVF before, sharing your previous treatment and embryology reports can also help the Janini IVF team understand your history and have a more useful discussion with you before you travel.
Yes. If you previously had IVF outside India, Janini IVF can review those treatment records when considering your next steps.
Your records may provide useful information about your stimulation, egg retrieval, fertilisation, embryo development, embryo transfers and the outcome of your treatment.
This can be particularly helpful if you are seeking another opinion or want to understand whether a different approach may be relevant for your next cycle.
If you have had IVF before, send the treatment and embryology records you have available.
Useful documents can include:
your previous stimulation protocol
egg-retrieval report
number of eggs retrieved and how many were mature
fertilisation results
embryology reports
embryo development or grading information
embryo-transfer records
the outcome of your previous cycle
Don't worry if you cannot find every document. Send what you have, and the Janini IVF team can let you know if anything else would be useful.
The length of your stay will depend on your individual IVF treatment plan and which stages of your cycle need to take place at Janini IVF.
Some consultation, record review and planning can begin before you travel. Once your treatment plan has been established, the team can explain when you need to be in India and how long you should plan to stay.
If you are arranging international travel around IVF, it is best to establish your treatment timeline before booking flights and accommodation.
In some cases, parts of your assessment or treatment may be coordinated before you travel. Whether this is possible will depend on your individual treatment plan.
Your Janini IVF doctor will first need to understand your fertility history and determine how your cycle should be managed. They can then advise what can safely take place in your country of residence and when you need to travel to India.
Because IVF medication, monitoring and procedures are carefully timed, this should always be planned with your treating fertility team rather than arranged independently.
Whether you have just heard about cytoplasmic transfer, have had it suggested as part of your treatment, or are researching your options after previous IVF, you do not need to decide whether it is right for you based on information online alone.
The useful starting point is understanding why it may be relevant to your particular treatment and what the available evidence can tell you.
If you have had IVF previously, your treatment and embryology records can also be reviewed to help inform that conversation.
Book a consultation at Janini IVF, Delhi:
+91-9717996655 / +91-977392665
Last reviewed by Dr. Rutvij Dalal on Oct 01, 2026
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