In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)

leading european ivf destination

What Is IVF In Modern Day Life?

In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) is the process by which eggs are removed from patient’s ovaries and fertilized with sperm in a laboratory. Fertilization takes place in a glass dish, "in vitro".

 

Since the first baby was born in 1978, over 5 million babies have been born since with this advanced medical technology IVF. In Ukraine we are using the best quality equipment and materials, supplied from Europe for IVF treatment procedure. We are using the Europe’s best sperm donor banks for IVF treatment. Ukraine is one of the finest destination in Europe right now for IVF treatment.

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How Might We Benefit From IVF?

IVF is likely to be recommended for the following fertility problems:

  1. If patient has blocked or damaged fallopian tubes or any other problem where IVF has been identified as the only treatment likely to help her get pregnant.
  2. If patient’s partner has a minor problem with his sperm. Major problems are better treated using other specific methods.
  3. If patient has tried fertility drugs such as Clomiphene, or another fertility treatment such as IUI, and had no success.

If patient has been trying to conceive for at least two years and a reason hasn't been found to explain why patient has not become pregnant.

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How is IVF Done?

IVF follows a series of steps, starting with fertility drugs to help you produce as many eggs as possible. These are the highlights of the process:

 

1. Fertility drugs:

patient will probably need to take fertility drugs to stimulate her ovary to develop mature eggs, ready for fertilization. During normal menstrual cycle of a healthy female she releases one egg per month.

 

Your odds of getting pregnant are better with more eggs, and using fertility drugs increases the number of mature eggs that are released. It's recommended that IVF offered with fertility drugs to stimulate patient’s ovary as she has a better chance of pregnancy as a result.

 

This is called down-regulation, and in the Europe usually involves a drug called Gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogues (pituitary agonists) to suppress or stop your cycle. Patient can take these everyday for about two weeks in form of tablet or injection.

 

Other shorter methods are also available to take control. Some involve the use of GnRH antagonists. These drugs can be taken over a few days, usually after pre-treatment with the contraception pill and at the start of ovulation stimulation. This method are not so common in the most countries but is suitable for women who are at higher risk of severe side effects of fertility drugs.

 

If patient has endometriosis, then she might has to take the GnRH agonist Cetrotide for several months to help improve her egg quality and chances of success.

 

2. Hormone injections:

Patient will have then daily hormone injections for about 12 days. These injections will stimulate patient’s ovary to release a greater number of mature eggs than usual (ovulation induction). The hormones used are gonadotrophins follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinising hormone (LH).

 

Women respond to these fertility drugs in different ways, and they may have strong side effects. Your doctor will closely monitor you to make sure that you are cared for if this happens.

 

Ultrasound scans and possibly blood hormone tests will be offered to monitor how many and how well patient’s eggs are responding. This is for safety and to check when patient’s eggs are mature.

 

3. Egg retrieval and sperm collection:

Ultrasound is used to detect when patient’s eggs are ready to be retrieved. Patient’s doctor will then remove the eggs from her ovary. Patient’s doctor will use a fine, hollow needle attached to an ultrasound scan probe. The probe helps to locate the follicles that contain the eggs. Patient may feel mild discomfort during the procedure, but if patient will feel pain later on our specialist qualified doctors will prescribe painkillers.

 

While patient’s eggs are being collected, patients partner will need to provide a fresh sample of semen. If donated sperm or frozen sperm are being used, the sample is taken from the freezer. The sperm is washed and the best-quality sperm extracted ready to fertilize the eggs. The sperm is then combined with the eggs in a dish and left to culture in an incubator.

 

4. Fertilization and embryo transfer:

Within one day of combining the eggs and sperm, the dish is checked to see if any eggs have been fertilized. If they have, they'll be kept for between two days and five days before being transferred back into patient’s uterus.

 

Any fertilized eggs will become a ball of cells called an embryo. They may also be referred to patient’s specialist as blastocysts, if the embryos are being transferred at the later blastocyst stage, at about day five. The healthiest embryos are chosen to be inserted into patient’s uterus.

 

Here in Ukraine, Our advanced clinics offer a pre-implantation test called comprehensive chromosome screening (CCS). This screens embryos before they are transferred at the blastocyst stage. Only the embryos that are predicted to have a full set of chromosomes are selected.

 

CCS may boost patient’s chances of getting pregnant and may also reduce, patient’s risk of miscarriage when a single embryo is transferred. This is especially the case if you are an older mum-to-be, using your own eggs.

 

By now patient will has been helping her uterus (womb) to prepare for the embryo by taking progesterone, which helps thicken its lining. Patient will receive this by injection, pessary or gel. If patient’s uterus lining (endometrium) is too thin, the embryos are unlikely to implant. If this is the case, the IVF cycle will unfortunately be abandoned.

 

Usually, one or two embryos are transferred with a thin catheter (tube) through her cervix into her uterus. Patient’s fertility specialist may use ultrasound to guide her.

 

To avoid the risk of a high order multiple pregnancy, no more than three embryos can be legally transferred. The number of embryos that are transferred will depend on patient’s age and her chances of success. This in turn depends on patient’s particular fertility problem.

 

5. Repeated cycles:

If there are any extra embryos, these may be frozen for future use. This is in case the first cycle doesn't succeed, or you want another baby after your successful treatment.

 

IVF normally involves transferring embryos at about two to three days after fertilization. Another option is to wait until about five days after fertilization when the ball of cells has developed into a blastocyst. Only the healthiest embryos will reach the blastocyst stage in vitro. Patients may have a better chance of having a healthy pregnancy after blastocyst transfer.

 

Clinics offer blastocyst transfer to all patients depending on quality and number of embryos available. However Clinics offer blastocyst transfer only if:

  1. patients have had previous normal IVF with healthy embryos but they have not implanted
  2. patients are under 40
  3. patients have opted for eSET

Patient can be up and about quite soon after embryo transfer, as resting for more than 20 minutes immediately afterwards makes no difference to the outcome. In a successful cycle, one or more embryos will implant in patient’s uterine wall and will continue to grow. Patient can take a pregnancy test in about two weeks.

 

Once patient’s pregnancy has been confirmed following IVF, patient should have an early ultrasound scan at about six weeks. This is to check that the embryo has implanted in patient’s uterus.

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ICSI Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection

ICSI is an effective modern day method to fertilize female eggs in Vitro, IVF lab after aspirated from female. IVF with ICSI involves the use of micromanipulation tools and inverted microscopes which help Embryologists to choose and collect individual sperm in ICSI needle. Needle then advanced carefully through outer shell of the female egg and egg membrane. Then sperm injected into inner part (cytoplasm) of the egg. This usually result in normal fertilization within about 75-85 % of egg injected with sperm. However woman must be stimulated with medications and have an egg retrieval procedure, so Doctors can obtain several eggs for In Vitro Fertilization and ICSI.

 

How is ICSI performed?

The mature egg is held with a specialized holding pipette.

  1. A very delicate, sharp and hollow needle is used to immobilize and pick up single sperm.
  2. This needle is then carefully inserted through the zona (Shell of the egg) and in to the center (Cytoplasm) of the egg.
  3. After injecting sperm into cytoplasm with extensive care, needle is removed.
  4. The egg will be checked next morning for evidence of normal fertilization.

Sometime IVF with ICSI is done for “egg factor” cases- low ovarian reserve situations. This is when there is either low number, or low quantity of eggs or both. ICSI fertilization and pregnancy success rates tend to be lower.

 

Fertilization and pregnancy success rates with ICSI:

Fertilization rates for ICSI: Most IVF programs see that about 70-85% of eggs injected using ICSI become fertilized. We call this the fertilization rate, which is different from the pregnancy success rate.

Pregnancy success rates for in vitro fertilization procedures with ICSI have been shown in some studies to be higher than for IVF without ICSI. This is because in many of the cases needing ICSI the female is relatively young and fertile (good egg quantity and quality) as compared to some of the women having IVF for other reasons.

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IVF Treatment Using Donor Eggs

What is egg donation?

In this process eggs borrowed from a young woman age under 33 called donor, with her consent. These eggs then fertilized with the sperms of the recipient’s husband. After fertilization process in Vitro, then embryo is placed into the recipient’s womb. In this procedure of treatment, success rate is between 30 to 40 %. Many women till the age 50-55 have become mothers by this medical procedure.

 

The choice of donor:

Most egg donations are anonymous, but some couples prefer to know their donor. If the donor knows the couple, the donor may wish to receive updates after baby’s birth.

Finding a donor yourself can be faster than going through a busy clinic, but there is a serious disadvantage: You will have to interview the donor yourself rather than having a professional screen and evaluate her. It's crucial that donors be tested for any genetic disorders or diseases such as HIV. Egg donor programs vary in their requirements, but most conduct extensive screening and provide you with detailed information about the medical history, background, and education of the donor. Some programs have strict age limits; they won't accept donors older than their mid-20s. The American Society for Reproductive Medicine recommends that egg donors be under the age of 34.

Our qualified staff will help you to choose a healthy and suitable egg donor for your IVF treatment. In Ukraine we are using the renowned egg donor banks for our valuable clients.

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IVF Treatment Using Donor Sperm

Now a days approximately in one third of infertility cases, there are complications with the sperm. There may be too few number of sperms, or the motility of sperm may be impaired, the sperm may be abnormal or there may be no sperm at all. In few cases, the use of the partner's sperm carries risks of inheritable conditions and defects for new born. For these reasons a decision is made by the couple to use donated sperm.

There are two type of treatment approaches using donor sperm. The first is donor insemination (DI) which can be used in cases where there is only male factor infertility. The second case is IVF with donor sperm, which is used when there are other fertility factors eg, the woman has blocked fallopian tubes.

 

Donor selection:

Every effort is made to match the physical characteristics and blood group of the patient's partner where appropriate. All donors are carefully selected, fully screened. Donors must comply with the following criteria:

  1. Must have a good sperm counts
  2. Better to be aged between 18 and 40 years
  3. Must be in good health
  4. Must not have personal or family history of sexually transmitted diseases
  5. Must be infection free of STD currently

Counseling:

Our dedicated doctors are always on their toes to give you right counseling from start till the end of your IVF treatment here in Ukraine.

DVB SP Health and Medical Care cares for your health as well your desire to choose donor for your upcoming offspring, therefore we work closely with our medical care providers to insure you successful IVF treatment.

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How long will IVF treatment last?

One cycle of IVF takes between four weeks and six weeks to complete. Patient and her partner can expect to spend about half a day at our clinic for the egg retrieval and fertilization procedures.

Patient can relax here and our highly qualified staff will monitor her pregnancy time to time in our advanced clinics.

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What’s the success rate of IVF?

The success rates depends on patient’s particular fertility problem and  her age. The younger you are, and the healthier your eggs are, the higher your chances are to get pregnant.

Based on figures from 2010, the percentage of cycles for women using their own fresh eggs which result in a live birth are:

  1. 32% if you are under 35 years
  2. 28% if you are between 35 and 37 years
  3. 21% if you are between 38 and 39 years
  4. 14% if you are between 40 and 42 years
  5. 5% if you are between 43 and 44 years
  6. 2% if you are 45 years or over

If patient been pregnant in past or have had a baby before, patient has an increased chances of success.
Patient can improve her chances of success by:

Reaching a healthy weight for her height before her treatment. IVF is more likely to be successful if patient’s body mass index (BMI) is between 19 and 30.

Keeping patient’s alcohol consumption to no more than one unit of alcohol per day, as drinking more than this reduces the effectiveness of IVF.

Stop smoking (this includes her partner!) Smoking reduces success rates.

Keeping her caffeine consumption very low. Even low rates of consumption of 2 to 50mg have been linked to lower success rates.

Patient’s chances of success falls as the number of unsuccessful IVF cycles increases.

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Advantages And Disadvantages Of IVF Treatment

What are the advantages of IVF?

IVF can offer you a chance of having a baby if you are unable to conceive naturally, for example if you have blocked, damaged or missing fallopian tubes.

 

 What are the disadvantages of IVF?

IVF increases your risk of certain complications, such as:

A multiple birth, when more than one embryo is transferred to your uterus. Many couples consider twins to be a blessing. But a multiple pregnancy increases your risk of having a premature baby or a baby with a low birth weight.

Side effects of fertility drugs are usually mild, and include hot flushes, headaches and nausea. However, you will need to be closely monitored for signs of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS), particularly if you have polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

Having OHSS may mean an interruption or cancellation of the treatment cycle and a stay in hospital while your over-stimulated ovaries settle down.

An increased risk of ectopic pregnancy, where an embryo implants in a fallopian tube or in patient’s abdominal cavity. This is more likely if patient has previously had problems affecting her fallopian tubes.

Patient may be at a slightly higher risk of her baby being born with a birth defect if patient conceive with IVF. However, these problems are not common and the absolute risk of patient’s baby having a problem as a result of ICSI or IVF is low. More research is needed to be sure if there is a direct link between fertility treatments and birth defects.

Despite these risks, many parents still go on to give birth to much-wanted, much-loved babies through IVF.

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DVB SP Health & Medical Care Ukraine Is An Alternative Choice

We provide access to the best IVF treatment for our patients within their financial capability. Our advanced medical clinics and qualified doctors are always on verge to take a very good care of our patients. DVB SP Health & Medical Care Ukraine is taking good care of you for your future generations.

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