IVF stands for “in vitro fertilisation”. This is the process of combining the ovum (i.e. “egg”, derived from female genitalia) and the sperm (derived from male genitalia) under laboratory conditions – i.e. “in vitro”. Fertilization is to follow successful combination processes – and a “zygote” is to be formed as a result of the combined sperm and ovum. Embryo is the term given to a growing zygote.
IVF (IVF in Cyprus)
IVF as a method was first developed at the beginning of 1970s to aid women with uterus channel blockings in getting pregnant. Lousie Brown, the first baby ever to be born out of IVF processes, helped popularize the method to a very substantial extent in the year of 1978. In addition to the fact that IVF is the first method ever to be developed for assisted reproduction, it also is the best known infertility treatment among the lay people.
Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) is the process where a specifically designed micro probe assists injection of selected sperm cells into each individual ova. This method is the most frequently used method for contemporary IVF treatments.
Dogus Infertility Clinic administers ICSI process to every procedure of assisted reproduction; hence, fertilization is guaranteed for every client. This requires no extra payment on your behalf – we regularly administer ICSI by default.
We can also clearly state that all our services are under legal acknowledgement. Dogus Infetility Clinic simply requires you to abandon your worries regarding legal concerns.
We would like to inform you about the embryo transfers. Legally allowed amounts for transfers are up to four embryos per client; and the stages are as follows:
IVF Treatment Stages
- Medication: Female recipient is to be prescribed medications to allow for control over the timing of her ovum production. Further medications will also be prescribed to increase the amount of ova to be generated.
- Keeping track of the recipient’s progress: Our clinic will monitor recipient’s ova through periodical vaginal ultrasound scanning. Blood tests will also be administered to chart the rise and decline of oestrogen levels produced by ova. This is to ensure clear information regarding how the ova are maturing for every individual client. Recipient is then to receive hormone injections to aid her ova maturation around 34 to 38 hours before the ova are to be collected.
- Collecting the ova: Ova are usually collected with the assistance of an ultrasound which usually takes around 30 minutes to be completed. Our experienced medical doctors will then insert a thin needle through the vaginal opening, targeting each individual ovum. The ova will then be drawn inside the cylindrical needle. More often than not, ova are collected by laparoscopy (an operation performed with the assistance of a tiny camera having an attached light source). Laparoscopy procedure involves making a small incision on the surface of stomach and extracting the ova through the needle via the incision track.
- Collecting the sperm: Around the same time that the ova are collected, a sperm sample is also to be taken from the male partner and stored for a short time. The sperm sample will be washed following special techniques; and, the healthiest sperm will be selected to fertilize with the ovum. If, on the other hand, a donor sperm sample is to be used, then the sperm to be fertilized with the ovum will be derived from a special freezer and prepared in the same way.
- Fertilization: Once the sperm and the ovum are collected, the sperm gets injected into the ovum through ICSI procedure. A cylindrical, hollow and very tiny needle pierces through the cell membrane while only a single sperm cell is contained in it. This sperm cell then gets injected into the cytoplasm of the ovum, allowing fertilization to occur.
- When to transfer the embryo: Embryo transfer can occur on the first up to the fifth day following fertilization depending on factors related to client characteristics (e.g. a low sperm count) or the progress of embryo development for each individual case. Same day embryo transfers as a procedure (where embryos are transferred on the fourth hour following fertilization) is becoming more popular, as it enables recipients to undergo outpatient procedures. Following the recent advice of embryologists, recipients also are encouraged to wait until day five when the blastocyst stage commences. This stage aids in increasing embryo transfer success rates leading to healthy implantations and helps decrease the likelihood of multiple embryonal formations leading to multiple pregnancies.
- Insemination: Insemination is the last stage of IVF. It is usually painless and does not require anaesthetic applications. The embryos are transferred into the uterus through the cervical opening with the aid of a catheter. Typically two to four embryos are transferred into the uterus – this allows increased chances of pregnancy. Successful treatments need the client to rest for the remainder of the day – usually allowing client to go home. A pregnancy test is to be administered on the 12th to the 15th day following embryo transfer. Normal pregnancy is to be expected following successful IVF applications.