In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)

Treatment Overview

During in vitro fertilization (IVF), eggs and sperm are brought together in a lab to allow the sperm to fertilize an egg. With IVF, you can use any combination of your own eggs and sperm and donor eggs and sperm.

After IVF, one or more fertilized eggs are placed in the uterus.

Ovarian stimulation and egg retrieval.

To prepare for a procedure using your own eggs, you will likely need hormone treatment to control ovulation and make your ovaries grow multiple eggs at once. This is often done with shots of gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue (GnRH agonist or GnRH antagonist) and gonadatropins (such as follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH)). You will get these hormone shots every day for about 1 to 2 weeks.

Your doctor will check your blood estrogen levels and will use ultrasound to see how your follicles are developing. Your dose may change based on test results. And you are monitored frequently with transvaginal ultrasound and blood tests. If follicles fully develop, you are given a human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) injection to stimulate the eggs to mature. The mature eggs are collected 34 to 36 hours later. This is done with needle aspiration guided by ultrasound. Most people have pain medicine and sedation for this procedure.

Sperm collection.

Sperm are collected by means of masturbation or by taking sperm from a testicle through a small incision. This procedure is done when a blockage prevents sperm from being ejaculated or when there is a problem with sperm development. Sperm may have been collected and frozen at an earlier time. In that case, the sperm are thawed on the day the eggs are collected.

Fertilization and embryo transfer.

The eggs and sperm are placed in a dish. They are incubated with careful temperature, atmospheric, and infection control for 48 to 120 hours. About 2 to 5 days after fertilization, the best fertilized eggs are selected. One to four are placed in the uterus. This is done with a thin flexible tube (catheter) that is inserted through the cervix. The other eggs may be frozen (cryopreserved) for future attempts.

Pregnancy and birth.

Any embryos that implant in the uterus may then result in pregnancy and birth of one or more infants.