IN-VITRO FERTILIZATION
Popularly referred to as IVF, In Vitro Fertilization, not so long ago it was a mysterious procedure, it means a man's sperm has attached to and entered the woman's egg outside the body, it is a major treatment for infertility when other methods have failed. And its first beginning was with Louise Brown who was born in England in 1978 as a result of IVF.
Basic steps of IVF:
STIMULATION: Fertility drugs (a type of fertility hormone known as a gonadotrophin) for around 12 days to boost egg production and to produce several eggs at one time. And during this period the mother will get vaginal ultrasound scans and blood tests to check hormones levels.
EGG RETRIEVAL: A minor surgery "Follicular Aspiration", To Extract the eggs from the woman's body. During this procedure, the women will receive anesthetics, then she may experience cramps but usually disappear after one day. In rare cases, if a woman is unable to produce eggs, she can use eggs that have been donated by other women but this is unacceptable in some laws and religions.
INSEMINATION AND FERTILIZATION: The sperm is placed with the best quality eggs (insemination), then stored in an environmentally controlled chamber where the sperm will enter an egg in a few hours. If the chances of fertilization are low, the doctor will apply (ICSI - Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection).
EMBRYO CULTURE: The fertilized becomes an embryo by dividing and it is growing properly. Within about 5 days, then the laboratory scientists remove a single cell from each embryo then decide which one to implant. This decreases the chances of passing a disorder onto a child.
EMBRYO TRANSFER: By inserting a thin tube containing the embryos into the woman's vagina, the embryos are placed in the lining of the womb. During this stage, the women will be awake. More than one embryo are placed into the womb at the same time, the exact number of embryos transferred depend on many factors, especially the woman's age.
- The man who has lack sperm motility or sperm count, or has a genetic disorder.
- The women who have had their fallopian tubes removed or damaged, or with ovulation disorders.
- Infertility's reason unknown.