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What is IVF?
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| IVF is an acronym for in vitro fertilization ('in vitro' meaning 'in glass'). Simply put IVF is adding a man's sperm to his female partners eggs in the laboratory to produce embryos. In vitro fertilization is an option for many couples who cannot conceive through conventional therapies. These embryos are put back into the female partner's uterus (womb) after 3 to 5 days of being in the incubator, hopefully they will then grow into a baby. The reasons IVF is done include - poor sperm qua.. |
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Embryo Development
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| Oocyte (Egg) stages Germinal Vesicle (Immature) The germinal vesicle, indicated by the arrow, shows this egg to be in prophase I of the first meiotic division. (Please note that eggs and embryos are usually surrounded by a layer of corona cells, these look like a halo around the egg when spread out. The cumulus cells spread out even further and generally have the appearance of a fluffy cloud. The cumulus can often be seen without a microscope. The egg together with these cells is som.. |
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IVF Ethics
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| IVF has always been controversial, Patrick Steptoe and Robert Edwards were faced with scores of people claiming things like ' they were playing God' and that 'any babies produced would not have a soul'. Fortunately when Louise Brown was born and people saw a healthy baby, many of these issues were forgotten. However, as IVF technology develops more and more ethical questions are raised. IVF is now clearly accepted by the majority of the population and looking back on recent.. |
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Embryo Freezing & Thawing
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| Embryo Thawing Cryopreservation of embryos has always been an important tool in an IVF program. It enables a precautious policy for embryo transfer, lessening the chance of multiple pregnancies, knowing that the embryos not transferred will be available for subsequent thawed cycles. This also establishes a cumulative pregnancy rate, increasing the overall chances for patients to conceive per IVF cycle, as well as helping patient management with complications such as Ovarian Hyperstimulation .. |
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Lysed Cell Removal (LCR) after freezing - thawing.
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| The process of freezing and thawing can be fairly harsh on the embryos and often not all of the cells or embryos survive. Lysed Cell Removal is a new technique that has been shown to dramatically increase the implantation potential of embryos that have been damaged by thawing. The technique known as Lysed Cell Removal (LCR) is giving improved results. It works by making a small hole in the zona pellucida with acid or laser then removing the cells that were damaged by the freezing which are thoug.. |
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ICSI - Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection
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| Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is an in vitro fertilization procedure in which a single sperm is injected directly into an egg; this procedure is most commonly used to overcome male infertility problems. The cumulus cells that surround the egg are removed using an enzyme called hyaluronidase, this historically comes from bovine testis but new technology has provided a pure recombinant product that is now available. A small amount of washed sperm is placed into thick viscous medi.. |
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Embryo transfer
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| The embryos are usually selected on day 3 or day 5 after retrieval. The number of embryos chosen for transfer will depend on a number of factors such as the maternal age, quality of embryos and results of previous cycles. After the transfer is complete the catheter is checked to ensure that none all the embryos are left behind. Embryo transfer can cause mild cramping. After transfer, the woman may get dressed and leave after a brief recovery period. A pregnancy test will be done twelve to fou.. |
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The oocyte/egg retrieval
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| Oocyte retrieval is performed approximately 36 hours after the hCG injection. The ovaries are scanned transvaginally then each follicle is then punctured using a long, sharp needle which is secured by a metal guide on the outside of the ultrasound probe. The needle punctures the wall of the vagina then into the ovary. As each follicle is punctured the fluid inside is remove with gentle suction, this aspirate is then passed into the laboratory where an embryologist will examine it carefully under.. |
