Frequently Asked Questions

How long do we have to wait for the first appointment with a doctor? One to two weeks How long will it be before we can start treatment? We can start whenever you wish after your initial consultation How much do the different treatments cost? Our full price list is detailed on our site How long does a treatment take? Between two and four weeks depending on treatment type

How many times will I need to visit the Centre during the course of treatment? Approximately seven visits are necessary. � Initial consultation with a doctor � Initial consultation with a doctor � Ultrasound examinations (three to four) � The day of egg collection � The day of embryo transfer Will I need to arrange leave in connection with the treatment? A few days may be necessary in connection with the egg collection and possibly the embryo transfer. What are my chances of becoming pregnant? It depends on: � Your Age (this is generally the most important factor for a woman) � The cause of your Infertility � The number of eggs that you produce following drug induction � The quality of the semen � The number of embryos resulting � The number of embryos transferred Our Sucess Rates show detailed information Are there any risks with IVF treatment? Overall IVF is a safe treatment.  A condition known as Ovarian Hyperstimulation may occur whereby a woman's ovaries become overstimulated and enlarged at the same time as fluid accumulates in her abdomen. For full information on all treatments, please refer to the Fertility Treatments section and/or contact our Information Officer, Janette Yates.

We have been told that my husband has poor sperm quality, we were not told the reason for this. I find this strange as we have a daughter. How do you investigate the reason for this problem? There are many reasons why sperm may be of poor quality. A semen analysis is performed to find out the volume, sperm count, concentration of sperm, motility and the general appearance of the sperm cell. The most common reason for poor quality is that the sperm count and motility is low. The reason for this may be hereditary, sometimes it could be due to medication or in rare cases it may be due to a hormonal problem.  In some men, sperm quality deteriorates over time. We've had one IVF attempt without success. I can't understand why, I had good embryos that divided nicely, they were also good for freezing. Is there any point in us using the frozen embryos for our next treatment, or should we start a new treatment? If I couldn't get pregnant the first time, surely it's impossible with my frozen embryos as they were collected at the same time? Your frozen embryos may well result in a pregnancy if they survive the thawing process. It's the quality of an individual embryo that is important and not all the eggs collected are of the same quality. My husband had a vasectomy many years ago, how successful is reversal of sterilisation? Sperm reappears in the ejaculate in approximately 50% of cases of reversal of sterilisation/vasectomy. The alternative to reversal of vasectomy would be to retrieve sperm from the testicles and/or the tube transporting the sperm out of the testicle.  This technique, pioneered by Professor Craft and his team, called PESA/TESA (Percutanous Epididymal Sperm Aspiration/TEsticular Sperm Aspiration) allows retrieved sperm to be used to fertilise your eggs by means of IntraCytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI).

I achieved a pregnancy through IVF treatment and I'm now nine weeks pregnant. My husband and I are so excited about our baby and I feel so fortunate that after years of trying, I'm finally pregnant. However, I'm very anxious about the possibility of miscarriage. When can I start to relax? At the moment, I'm checking any signs of bleeding many times a day. I have been for an ultrasound examination where everything was normal. How high is the risk for me to have a Down's syndrome baby? I'm 35 years old. It is normal to feel some anxiety during pregnancy. You have had an ultrasound where a normal pregnancy was observed in the uterus. This is the best reassurance that you can have. The foetus was observed with a normal heartbeat. The risk for you to miscarry is very low if your early pregnancy progress has been good. The same applies to the risk of having a Down's Syndrome baby at your age, the risk is about 1 in 500. The doctor can offer you an ultrasound examination and a blood test at 12 weeks of pregnancy to assess your individual risk of having a baby with Down's Syndrome. This examination is called a nuchal translucency scan.