IVF is the most powerful treatment in general terms. It is the process of combining sperms and eggs in the lab to create embryos.
The whole IVF-FET/ET treatment briefly includes : ovarian stimulation; egg retrieval; embryo culture and embryo transfer.
Controlled Ovarian stimulation
Ovarian stimulation takes about two weeks. During these two weeks, you might receive injectable medication containing follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH) or a combination of both to help your eggs grow. You will also receive gonadotropin releasing hormone antagonist to prevent egg releasing prematurely. These medications help you to produce multiple eggs. In these two weeks, your doctor will perform several ultrasounds and blood works to properly tailor the treatment based on your need.
Conventional ovarian stimulation IVF
This protocol fits most patients. This protocol starts with a moderate amount of injectable medications and then your medication dosage will be adjusted based on individual response. The goal is to retrieve the optimal number of eggs, therefore to maximize IVF success rate.
Mini stim IVF
Patients will receive a small amount of injectable medication and oral meds for ovarian stimulation. This protocol is used for females who have limited AFC. Less medication lowers the cost of treatment. Most patients who fit to mini stim IVF need more than one cycle. Ministim IVF with 3 cycles package can significantly reduce patients financial burden. Please call us on (949)522-5033 for details.
Egg retrieval
This is a procedure performed in the operating room. Patient will be put to sleep during the procedure. Transvaginal ultrasound guided aspiration is the usual retrieval method. An ultrasound probe is inserted into a patient’s vagina to identify follicles. Then a thin needle is used to retrieve the eggs. The procedure takes about 20 minutes, after the procedure a female may feel cramping, fullness or pressure. Small amounts of pain medication is recommended in the afternoon after egg retrieval. Most patients do not need any pain medication on the next day.
Semen
Male partner’s semen will be collected on the same day of egg retrieval and will be washed to ensure the healthiest and most viable sperm are collected. If a semen sample was collected prior to the egg retrieval due to special circumstances, it would have been frozen at the time of collection and would begin the thawing process at this stage.
Fertilization
This step happens in the lab. Fertilization can be attempted using two common methods:
Conventional insemination
Washed sperms and mature eggs are mixed and incubated overnight.
Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI)
A single normal looking sperm is injected directly into each mature egg. ICSI is often used when semen quality or number is not ideal or embryo biopsy needs to be performed afterwards.