Treatments
Description of available treatments
IVF/ICSI treatments for pregnancy
Pathway
Controlled Ovarian Stimulation
This is the initial phase of the treatment. It involves administration of special medication, including hormones such as FSH or HMG which will increase the number of ovarian follicles. In contrast to a natural cycle, after Controlled Ovarian Stimulation you should have several follicles and several eggs, which will increase the chance of having good quality embryos.
Egg Collection
The egg collection takes place after the completion of ovarian stimulation. The procedure is performed transvaginally under ultrasound guidance. It usually requires intravenous sedation anaesthesia and the procedure takes an average 10-15 minutes. It is performed by a doctor and a nurse who will empty the follicles with an aspirating pump. Fluid collected from the follicles is immediately assessed by the embryologist and once eggs are found they are placed in a special culture medium.
Fertilization and embryo culture
Fertilization of eggs may be performed by “classical IVF” (placing each egg into a dish with sperm) or by “ICSI” (injecting a single sperm into the egg). After confirmation of successful fertilization (which can be seen about 20 hours after the IVF or ICSI procedure) embryos are cultured in special incubators, which provide optimal conditions for their development. Our laboratory offers blastocyst culture and transfer of embryos. That means that embryos are placed to futher culture until day 5 of development. The extended culture of embryos helps us select which embryos are of the highest reproductive potential.
Unlike most of other clinics, LFC does not charge extra for blastocyst culture.
Read More Fertilisation And Embryo Culture >
Embryo Transfer
The procedure of transferring embryo(s) into the womb/uterus is performed by using a flexible catheter, and passage of the catheter into the womb can be seen on the ultrasound scan. After confirmation of the appropriate positioning of the catheter, the embryo(s) is/are released and the doctor will withdraw the catheter. This procedure usually does not require sedation and patient’s discomfort is usually due to a full bladder (necessary for the transfer), rather than the procedure itself.
Read More IVF info sheet >
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Embryo Freezing
Embryo freezing (cryopreservation) may be performed in couples who have just received a fresh embryo transfer procedure and still have good quality embryos left which were not transferred into the uterus. Recently, a technique called vitrification (Read More Vitrification) has shown very good results in studies carried out all over the world and London Fertility Centre is amongst a handfuld of centres in the UK that providing vitrification for embryos.
The vitrified embryos will remain in storage to be used by the patients in the future. This can either be for the creation of a sibling, or, in the unfortunate event where the “fresh” cycle was not successful, to have another embryo transfer. Thawed embryos have a lower viability rate compared to “fresh” cycles, however, vitrification has increased the survival rates of thawed embryos. The frozen embryo replacement (FER) cycle is much less invasive as it does not require taking FSH injections or undergoing an egg collection procedure.