IN-VITRO FERTILISATION

IVF treatment involves the fertilisation of an egg outside the body. The treatment can be performed using Couples own eggs and sperm, or using either donated sperm or donated eggs, or both. In order for pregnancy to occur, an egg has to be released from the ovary and unite with a sperm. Normally this union, called fertilization, occurs within the fallopian tube, which joins the uterus (womb) to the ovary. In IVF, this process of fertilisation happens outside the woman’s body. A woman’s eggs are removed and fertilised in a laboratory using sperm that has been given as a sperm sample. Next, the fertilised egg, called an embryo is implanted into the woman's womb. Typically, one cycle of IVF takes between four and seven weeks.

INTRA CYTOPLASMIC SPERM INJECTION (ICSI)

About 35-40% of men have a very low sperm count or very low motility which prevents fertilization of the egg even with IVF. Intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) differs from conventional in vitro fertilisation (IVF) in that the embryologist selects a single sperm to be injected directly into an egg. ICSI is the best method of fertilization. It is the process of injecting the selected best quality sperm in to the egg ICSI Process involves usage of specialized manipulators and microscope for pickup of selected sperms. Very few sperm are required and the ability of the sperm to penetrate the egg is no longer important as this has been assisted by the ICSI technique.

IN-VITRO MATURATION (IVM)

It is a technology where eggs are removed from ovaries when they are still immature. They are then matured in the laboratory before being fertilised. The difference between IVM and conventional in vitro fertilisation (IVF) is that the eggs are immature when they are collected. This procedure is used in patient with PCO and poor respondences.

SPERM FREEZING / EMBRYO FREEZING

Sperm freezing and storage is the procedure whereby sperm cells are frozen to preserve them for future use either in artificial insemination or other fertility treatments, or be donated. Donated sperm has to be stored for six months before it can be used in treatment, in order to screen the donor for infections. Sperm cells have been frozen, thawed and successfully used in treatment for more than 40 years.

SEMEN ANALYSIS

Semen analysis measures the amount and quality of a man's semen and sperm. A semen analysis is generally the first infertility testing procedure performed during a couple's fertility assessment The semen is collected by masturbation into a sterile specimen cup and sent immediately to our lab. There, the sample will be examined and several measurements will be taken. Among these are quantity of semen, concentration of sperm, sperm motility, and sperm morphology.

ULTRASONOGRAPHY

DONOR EGGS (OOCYTE) / DONOR SPERM PROGRAMME

Egg Donation

Egg donation is the process by which a fertile woman provides one or several eggs (also known as ova or oocytes) to an infertile woman for purposes of assisted reproduction. After the eggs have been retrieved from the donor, the role of the egg donor is complete. For assisted reproduction purposes, egg donation typically involves in vitro fertilization technology, with the eggs being fertilized in the laboratory, and the resulting embryos are then transferred to the recipient's uterus. The donor egg program is for women who have poor egg quality, advanced maternal age, premature menopause, a genetic disorder, or absence of ovaries due to surgery, previous chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Women who are unable to produce healthy eggs are able to achieve pregnancy and experience childbirth through the egg donation.

Donor Sperm

Couples use donor sperm when the husband/partner has no sperm or a very poor semen analysis (azoospermia, oligospermia, poor motility), or when there is a genetic problem which could be inherited from the male. As recommended by the doctor and depending on other factors involved, donor sperm may be used in combination with IUI, IVF or ICSI as appropriate.

EMBRYO FREEZING

Often with IVF or ICSI treatment cycle, the woman’s ovaries are stimulated to produce many eggs. Following fertilisation and embryo culture, the best embryos are selected for embryo transfer. There will also be good embryos with are surplus to those required for embryo transfer. These embryos can be frozen at this point for future use. The main benefit of embryo freezing is the option to have frozen embryos thawed and transferred to the woman’s uterus in the future without having to undergo stimulation of the ovaries or egg retrieval. It is also possible that there may be enough frozen embryos for more than one subsequent cycle. Your chances of becoming pregnant with a thawed frozen embryo are not affected by the length of time the embryo has been stored.

HORMONAL ASSAYS

BLASTOCYST CULTURE

Blastocyst Transfer is a new important technique developed for IVF that maximizes pregnancy rates while minimizing risks of multiple pregnancy. Embryos are typically cultured for 3 days (cleavage stage with 4-10 cells) before being transferred into the uterus. An advance in infertility treatment involves growing human embryos in the laboratory to a later “blastocyst” stage before transferring them into the uterus following in vitro fertilization.

SURROGACY PROGRAMME

SONOHYSTEROGRAPHY