Downregulation of the immune system?

    Dear experts,

    I have been advised by my Danish fertility clinic to undergo "downregulation of the immune system" with the same medication that is normally used to downregulate the body's own hormone production. Specifically, the doctor suggested either two months of taking the contraceptive pill or two months with one injection each of Zoladex (goserelin), which is a GnRH agonist.

    The classic downregulation of the body's own hormones makes no sense for me as I don't have any endogenous hormone production at all (estrus gonads). Are you aware of the use of downregulation to regulate a possibly overreacting immune system? Does this make sense? Do you have any experience with this?

    Thank you very much for your assessment!

    - 08/2019 -05/2021: 1. EZS in der Aagaard Klinik in DK, lange Wartezeit, 1. Transfer erfolgreich -> wunderbare Tochter :) <3

    - 07/2023: Start in Runde 2 mit der 2. Blastocyste der gleichen Spenderin - leider negativ ;(

    - 10-12/2023: Eine neue Spenderin gefunden! Leider nur 3 Eizellen, 1 befruchtet, 1 Blasto, Transfer negativ ;(

    - 03-07/2025: Endlich eine neue Spenderin! 16 Eizellen, 7 befruchtet, nur 2 Blastos. 1. Transfer negativ ;(

    - 09/2025: 2. Transfer negativ ;(

    - 11/2025: Klinikwechsel geplant...

    Edited once, last by Nini (July 12, 2025 at 4:39 PM).

    Dear Nini,

    Thank you for your question, we will pass it on to the medical team immediately. However, we are already replying to you from the communications team, as this answer will take some time, unlike the usual replies in this forum. Due to the summer vacation, our team is smaller and the experts' schedules are full. They will give us an answer as soon as possible, but not as quickly as users are used to.

    We apologize for this delay, and in any case it is important to remember that it is best to discuss these doubts and questions with the doctor in charge of your case. In a forum, our doctors can give a general recommendation, but not a clear medical indication, as they do not know your case and your full medical history.

    With best regards

    The Vida Fertility Team

    Ihr Vida Fertility Team <3

    I would still be interested in an answer!

    - 08/2019 -05/2021: 1. EZS in der Aagaard Klinik in DK, lange Wartezeit, 1. Transfer erfolgreich -> wunderbare Tochter :) <3

    - 07/2023: Start in Runde 2 mit der 2. Blastocyste der gleichen Spenderin - leider negativ ;(

    - 10-12/2023: Eine neue Spenderin gefunden! Leider nur 3 Eizellen, 1 befruchtet, 1 Blasto, Transfer negativ ;(

    - 03-07/2025: Endlich eine neue Spenderin! 16 Eizellen, 7 befruchtet, nur 2 Blastos. 1. Transfer negativ ;(

    - 09/2025: 2. Transfer negativ ;(

    - 11/2025: Klinikwechsel geplant...

    Dear Nini

    Yes, we know that you have been waiting a long time and we are very sorry for keeping you waiting so long, but your question was very specific and our team is still waiting for the answer from our immunologist. At Vida Fertility we work with external experts such as urologists or immunologists who are experts in their field of fertility and we want to give you a professional answer. We will do our best to answer you as soon as possible.

    Thank you for your patience.

    Vida Fertility Team.

    Ihr Vida Fertility Team <3

    Thanks for the interim reply, I'll be happy to wait a little longer for a professional answer!

    - 08/2019 -05/2021: 1. EZS in der Aagaard Klinik in DK, lange Wartezeit, 1. Transfer erfolgreich -> wunderbare Tochter :) <3

    - 07/2023: Start in Runde 2 mit der 2. Blastocyste der gleichen Spenderin - leider negativ ;(

    - 10-12/2023: Eine neue Spenderin gefunden! Leider nur 3 Eizellen, 1 befruchtet, 1 Blasto, Transfer negativ ;(

    - 03-07/2025: Endlich eine neue Spenderin! 16 Eizellen, 7 befruchtet, nur 2 Blastos. 1. Transfer negativ ;(

    - 09/2025: 2. Transfer negativ ;(

    - 11/2025: Klinikwechsel geplant...

    Dear Nini,

    Thank you for your patience.

    I know you have been waiting for an answer for a long time, but unfortunately we have no experience with the downregulation of the immune system by GNRH agonists. We use this type of downregulation in women with endometriosis and adenomyosis. There may be other data in your file that we are not aware of (which is normal as this is a public forum) that may explain your clinical treatment plan. I would be happy to look at these in more detail, but my best advice is that you ask for the explanations you need there so that you can understand the medical treatment you are receiving and feel safe and secure about it.

    Yours sincerely,

    Dr. Alejandra Garcia-Villalba

    Ihr Vida Fertility Team <3

    Dear Dr. Garcia-Villalba,

    Thank you very much for your reply. I was also only familiar with down-regulation from the contexts you mentioned and did not find anything else about it in the literature, which is why I found my doctor's suggestion very strange. I will ask him again for a more detailed explanation, but it is good to know that you are not familiar with this application of down-regulation either.

    Kind regards,

    Nini

    - 08/2019 -05/2021: 1. EZS in der Aagaard Klinik in DK, lange Wartezeit, 1. Transfer erfolgreich -> wunderbare Tochter :) <3

    - 07/2023: Start in Runde 2 mit der 2. Blastocyste der gleichen Spenderin - leider negativ ;(

    - 10-12/2023: Eine neue Spenderin gefunden! Leider nur 3 Eizellen, 1 befruchtet, 1 Blasto, Transfer negativ ;(

    - 03-07/2025: Endlich eine neue Spenderin! 16 Eizellen, 7 befruchtet, nur 2 Blastos. 1. Transfer negativ ;(

    - 09/2025: 2. Transfer negativ ;(

    - 11/2025: Klinikwechsel geplant...

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