IVF or in vitro fertilisation is a treatment in which we remove eggs from your ovaries and fertilise it with sperm in the laboratory. We then return the fertilised egg, called an embryo, to your womb to grow and develop into a baby.

One in ten couples will seek the advice of a fertility specialist to help them achieve pregnancy. Thirty percent of these couples may need In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) or Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) treatment.

At  Near East University Hospital IVF Centre, we thoroughly assess and investigate all patients considering IVF. Based on our detailed assessment, we prepare an individualised treatment protocol.

This IVF treatment protocol involves the use of different kinds of fertility drugs and injections as we move through different stages of IVF treatment.

For the patients, from whom we plan to obtain eggs, we will give them medications to stimulate their ovaries. This is part of controlled ovarian stimulation.

We carefully monitor you on a regular basis. When we consider your eggs mature, we’ll collect them. Egg collection is a minor day surgical procedure, which we do while you’re under sedation.

Your male partner will provide a semen sample on the day of the egg collection. We then prepare and wash the sample. We then fertilize each egg with a selected sperm using the ICSI (inracytoplasmic sperm injection) procedure.

We assess the embryos on a daily basis for their development and grading.

We then replace the embryo(s) into the womb three to five days later.

Any remaining viable good quality embryo that we do not transfer during the treatment cycle may be frozen (cryopreserved). We’ll keep them in storage in an embryo laboratory for potential future use. We can keep the embryos in storage for many years without any harm.

You’ll then take a pregnancy test. If we are successful, you will attend the pregnancy follow up under our supervision. If you are not pregnant, we will assess your file again for your treatment and our future management plan regarding your infertility.

In-Vitro Fertilization

 

In-vitro fertilization (IVF) is a method of infertility treatment in which the sperm and the egg (oocyte) are combined outside the body for fertilization to occur. A doctor then transfers the resulting embryo(s) to the uterus to develop naturally.

The IVF cycle includes five basic phases:
1. Development of ovarian follicles and thus, the maturation of eggs
2. Ultrasound guided, transvaginal harvesting of the eggs
3. Fertilization and development of the fertilized eggs (embryos)
4. Transfer of one or more embryos back into the uterus
5. Follow-up blood tests and obstetrical ultrasounds

In a normal menstrual cycle, just one egg each month develops and matures. The egg matures within a fluid filled structure on the ovary called a “follicle.” At the beginning of an in-vitro fertilization cycle, hormone medications are used to stimulate the ovaries so that multiple follicles will develop to create multiple eggs. Typically eggs reach optimum maturation after approximately 10 days of medication. Ultrasound monitoring and blood hormone levels determine the maturation of the eggs. When the eggs have reached maturity, another medication, human chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG), will be taken. Approximately 36 hours after the hCG injection, you are given anesthesia and Dr. Burcu will harvest your eggs from your ovaries with a needle guided by ultrasound.

After the eggs are removed from the ovary the embryologist will place them in fluid media designed to mimic the conditions of the fallopian tube (where fertilization typically takes place). The semen specimen will be prepared to isolate the best sperm for insemination, then placed with the eggs and incubated overnight in precise temperatures to mimic the conditions in the human body.

Embryo development is then observed and at the appropriate stage of development (normally 3 to 5 days), the embryo(s) are placed into the uterus through a small catheter placed through the cervix and guided by ultrasound. A pregnancy test is then performed approximately 12 days later.

IVF bypasses the fallopian tubes and accordingly patients with damaged or absent fallopian tubes can become pregnant. This technique has also been instrumental in helping patients with endometriosis, severe male factor infertility, and many other disorders to become pregnant.

Near East University Hospital IVF Centre offers a variety of modifications to the standard IVF process to help patients with specific disorders. We offer intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) for  all of our patients to increase the chance of fertilization without extra charging.