Test Tube Baby India

What is in vitro fertilization – IVF?

The IVF process involves:

• Stimulating multiple follicles and eggs to develop
• Egg retrieval to get the eggs
• Fertilizing the eggs in the laboratory
• Embryo transfer to the uterus

Louise Brown was the first IVF baby in the world. She was born in July of 1978 in England. Louise was 28 (in 2006) when she had her own baby (without IVF).

• Hundreds of thousands of children are now born every year as a result of IVF
• For an overview of IVF, see In vitro fertilization

The process of in vitro fertilization – how is IVF done?
Basic screening tests are performed on both partners at all IVF clinics

• In general, some testing of “ovarian reserve” should be done on the female prior to starting the injections.
• We use day 3 FSH and AMH blood testing as well as antral follicle counts for this purpose.
• These tests help predict how well the ovaries will respond to the drugs (making sufficient follicles and eggs).
• The number of follicles that develop when we stimulate the woman correlates with the number of eggs we get at the egg pickup (aspiration or retrieval) procedure.
• The number of eggs retrieved correlates with IVF success rates

Consents are signed by all parties

The woman is stimulated with injected medications to develop multiple follicles in the ovaries. Each follicle contains a microscopic egg. These injections continue to stimulate follicle and egg growth and development for about 8 – 10 days.

• Details about ovarian stimulation protocols for in-vitro fertilization
• Details about the subcutaneous injectable medications
• Sample in vitro fertilization calendar of a “typical” cycle that shows the days medications are given, office visits, etc.

Blood and ultrasound testing is done every 1-3 days to monitor the development of the follicles (egg-containing structures) in the ovaries.

We need to get a minimum number of 3 follicles to develop to maturity in order to be able to proceed with the egg retrieval. About 90-95% of women under 40 with a normal FSH and normal antral follicle counts will develop at least this minimum number of follicles.

If this many mature follicles cannot be obtained from the stimulation process – we will “cancel” the cycle (not proceed with egg retrieval). Criteria for cancellation can vary between IVF centers.

test-tube-babies

Laser Assisted Hatching

Laser-assisted hatching can turn around a history of failure for embryos to implant themselves in the uterine wall. Assisted hatching is used to help the embryo hatch from its protective outer shell, the zona pellucida, and promote implantation in the uterine wall after embryo transfer.

Blastocyst Culture

Blastocyst culture and transfer is a technique developed for in vitro fertilization (IVF). This procedure intends to maximize pregnancy rates while minimizing the risk of multiple pregnancies. Embryos are typically cultured for 3 days (cleavage stage with 4-10 cells) before being transferred into the uterus.

PGD / PGS

Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) and preimplantation genetic screening (PGS) are genetic testing procedures for embryos. The procedures offer couples that are likely to pass on a genetic abnormality a way to become biological parents with minimal risk.

Embryo Freezing

This is important in the embryology world because ice crystal formation can be very damaging to frozen embryos (or other frozen cells). Vitrification in IVF can allow freezing of spare embryos with better post-thaw survival rates and higher pregnancy and live birth rates from frozen embryo transfer cycles.