In vitro fertilisation (IVF & ICSI) treatments
IVF (In Vitro Fertilization) is widely recognized as the most efficient form of treatment for infertility for several reasons. IVF was developed in the 1970s as a treatment for infertility due to the tubal factor, it has since proven success in treating patients suffering from endometriosis, infertility caused by poor sperm quality and infertility of unknown origin.
At Ovumia, treatments are offered without waiting time.
IVF is an effective fertilization treatment for patients who suffer from endometriosis or fallopian tube problems or when fertility is reduced due to poor sperm quality. Patients whose cause of infertility is unclear also often benefit from IVF treatment. In in vitro fertilization, a woman receives hormonal treatment, the purpose of which is to grow more than one follicle and mature the eggs they contain to be fertile. The progress of the treatment is monitored with ultrasound examinations. Oocytes are collected from follicles in oocyte collection and fertilized in a common culture dish with sperm cells.
During the normal menstrual cycle, one egg ripens and becomes released in the woman’s ovaries, while the other follicles that started to grow become atrophied. Before IVF, the woman receives hormonal treatment that helps more than one follicle to grow and the eggs contained in them to become ripe for fertilisation.
Hormonal treatment is planned individually for each woman. Depending on the method of treatment, it lasts 2–4 weeks. Hormones are injected under the skin. The progress of the treatment is monitored in ultrasound examinations and sometimes also by means of hormone blood tests. You can continue your normal life, work and leisure activities during hormone treatment.
Eggs are collected from the follicles of the ovary. The procedure is carried out by means of a thin needle under ultrasound observation through the vagina. During collection, the woman receives IV pain medication and a local anaesthesia in the base of the vagina.
On average, 10 eggs are collected at one time on average, but this varies on a case-by-case basis.
After the eggs have been collected, the woman’s condition is monitored at the clinic for a couple of hours. Adequate pain medication is offered. The sick leave usually lasts for the day of collection and the following two days.
IVF treatment is carried out in a scrupulously clean laboratory by placing the eggs harvested from the woman and the sperm separated from the man’s sperm sample onto the same common culture dish. Before the eggs are harvested, the woman needs to undergo a hormonal treatment or a simulation of the ovaries. The eggs are harvested under ultrasound control from the follicles of the ovaries. The eggs and sperm are cultivated in a special incubator in which the temperature, humidity and gas content are carefully controlled to simulate the conditions in the female reproductive organs.
Fertilisation and the development of embryos are monitored during each phase. Usually some 70% of the eggs become fertilised in the cultivation dish. Some 30–50% of the fertilised eggs develop into good-quality embryos. The best of these is selected for fresh embryo transfer, during which the embryo is placed in the uterus 2–5 days after fertilisation. The remaining good-quality embryos are frozen for later frozen embryo transfers. Some 30–40% of fresh embryo transfers lead to a clinical pregnancy.
Intracytoplasmic sperm injection, ICSI, is used as a treatment for infertility due to the man if the sperm count of the sperm sample is very low or if the motility of the sperm is particularly poor. This treatment is also used when normal IVF has not led to fertilisation. Before the ICSI treatment, the woman receives hormonal treatment and eggs are collected just as for IVF. Motile sperm are separated from the man’s sperm sample for intracytoplasmic injection.
In ICSI, fertilisation is aided by introducing one sperm into a ripe egg by means of a thin glass needle. The fertilisation of the eggs and development of the embryos are monitored just like in normal IVF. The treatment results of ICSI are comparable to those of IVF.
If the man has no sperm in his semen, sperm may still be found in the testicular tissue. A tissue sample is taken from the testicle after local anaesthesia. You will be on sick leave on the day of the procedure. Sperm are separated from the sample and introduced into ripe cells by means of the ICSI method. The treatment results are comparable to those obtained when using sperm separated from the semen.
The fertilisation of eggs is checked within 16–20 hours after bringing the egg and the sperm together. The embryo can already be placed in the uterus at this point, but after a longer period of cultivation, the embryo giving the best chance of pregnancy can be selected for transfer.
The embryos are usually cultured for 2–3 days in the laboratory. They are cultured until the mitotic phase in which the two-day-old embryos consist of four cells, and the three-day-old ones of eight cells. It is sometimes useful to continue the cultivation for 4–5 days until the blastocyst stage.
The possibility of pregnancy can be predicted on the basis of embryo development and appearance. The best of the embryos with a good prognosis is selected for fresh transfer, and the remaining good embryos are frozen for future frozen embryo transfers.
An embryo transfer is the procedure in which the embryo aged 2–5 days is placed in the uterine cavity. Embryo transfer is carried out with a catheter under ultrasound observation. Usually only one embryo is transferred at a time in order to avoid multiple pregnancies. The doctor determines the number of embryos to place after discussing the medical history and the wishes of the couple with them. Hormonal treatment continues vaginally after embryo transfer.
A pregnancy test is done two weeks after the embryo transfer. If the test is positive, the first ultrasound examination is done approximately five weeks after the embryo transfer. If the pregnancy has progressed as usual, monitoring will be provided by the maternal and child health services as in any pregnancy.
The best of the embryos produced in the infertility treatments is selected for fresh transfer, and the remaining good-quality embryos are frozen. The embryos are stored at the temperature of liquid nitrogen (-196°C) under carefully monitored conditions for any future frozen embryo transfers. If necessary, the embryos can be kept even for years.
Frozen embryos can be transferred into the uterus at a suitable time of the woman’s own, natural menstrual cycle or during a hormone-supported cycle. More than 80% of the frozen embryos survive the thawing. Some 40% of frozen embryo transfers lead to pregnancy.