More than 8,000,000 children have already been born with in vitro
In vitro (IVF)
"The issue of infertility is much more frequent than you think and it concerns at present even 15% of couples in reproductive age. For many of them in vitro fertilisation is the only chance to conceive a child. In the last forty years over seven million children were born thanks to the in vitro procedure, and the number of couples who fulfilled their dream of growing their family keeps increasing. You can achieve it as well.
A milestone for the IVF was the birth in 1992 of the first child conceived through the intracytoplasmic sperm injection technique (ICSI) into the egg cell (Palermo et al.).
The ICSI procedure is recommended in the following cases:
- very low sperm count in the semen (crypto-oligozoospermia),
- severe asthenozoospermia (abnormal motility parameters),
- a low percentage of sperm cells with normal morphological structure.
The following methods are derived from the ICSI methods and they are used if the greater number of irregularities have been found in the sperm cells: PICSI, IMSI and Hb-IMSI.
Source: In vitro fertilization (3rd edition) Elder and Dale, Cambridge University Press, 2011
The development of the method of in vitro creation of a human embryo and then transferring it to the woman's uterus for development was a joint success of Edwards and M.D. Patrick Steptoe co-operating with him. Their co-operation enabled the treatment of infertility, a condition that affects a large part of humanity, including over 10% of couples all over the world.
Source: Press release ""The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2010"", nobelprize.org, 2010
The first child born after the IVF treatment took place in 1978 in Great Britain. It was a girl by the name Luise Brown. Since that time the IVF has been used with success and thanks to this method over 8 million children were born all over the world. In 2006 Louise Brown gave birth to a boy named Cameron, who was conceived in a natural way.
Source: European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (3 July 2018). ""More than 8 million babies born from IVF since the world's first in 1978"". ScienceDaily. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
1. The stimulation of production of extra eggs and cycle monitoring until the determination of the ovum pick-up (OPU) time.
2. The egg cells collected from the ovaries in laboratory conditions are fertilised using one of the following procedures: classic IVF, ICSI, IMSI or PICSI.
3. Embryo culture. After the confirmation of fertilisation, the embryologist regularly assesses the development of embryos during the whole culture period (up to 6 days after fertilisation) to select the most promising ones.
4. Embryo transfer after 3 or 5/6 days from eggs fertilization. Unused normal excess embryos are frozen (vitrified) and stored at low temperatures.
5. If the woman does not become pregnant and has vitrified embryos, they can be transferred at subsequent attempts. If the woman becomes pregnant, unused embryos can be stored for the future or donated for adoption.
In vitro fertilization gives the chance of having children in a situation when other treatment methods proved ineffective or have no chance of success according to the current state of knowledge.
IVF can therefore be used both in women and in men in cases of decreased semen quality, and also in couples with infertility of unexplained origin (idiopathic infertility).
IVF can be performed using own eggs and the Partner’s semen or eggs, semen or embryos of anonymous donors.
The scientific term in vitro meaning “in the glass” is used with reference to each biological procedure conducted outside the body in which it would normally take place.
IVF is the abbreviation of the English term in vitro fertilization.
Source: In vitro fertilization (3rd edition) Elder and Dale, Cambridge University Press, 2011
***
In compliance with Polish law, heterosexual couples that are married or are in an informal relation can undergo the in vitro procedure. The most important legal act regulating the IVF is the Act of 25 June 2015 on Infertility Treatment.
As many as 59% of patients under 35 become moms after the first in vitro cycle. Patients aged 35 to 39 have similar chances. In their case 55% of the first cycles end in births.
We provide each couple with a Medical Care Coordinator who supports the patient and her partner throughout the treatment.
We make sure that each couple has their own attending physician, who does not change during the entire treatment process.
The quality of services and procedures is supervised by a team of experienced clinic employees, the so-called Quality Team.
What are the indications for the in vitro procedure?
- In vitro fertilization is recommended in the case of couples diagnosed with:
- fallopian tubes obstruction, inability to induce ovulation or endometriosis in a woman;
- low quality of semen in a male;
- idiopathic infertility in both of them (despite the good results of the tests they do not manage to conceive a child);
- infertility, if previously applied treatment methods did not bring any effect.
Success factors of in vitro treatment
Which factors are the most significant in the context of success of infertility treatment using the in vitro method? What are the chances for in vitro success? The answer can be different in the case of each couple. Therefore, it is extremely important to undergo diagnostics and treatment in a renowned infertility treatment centre which guarantees objective results. Such a centre is InviMed, which has operated for almost 20 years.
At InviMed, each couple has its own treatment program, created and, if necessary, modified by the attending physician who specializes in the treatment of infertility. A modern embryology laboratory, access to various methods of in vitro fertilization, supporting techniques and an experienced team of embryologists are of equal importance. Thanks to these factors, the in vitro effectiveness at InviMed is very high.
The success of fertilisation (including in vitro fertilisation) is also affected by:
- The woman’s age and her ovarian reserve. As women grow older, the number and quality of their egg cells decrease, which has a direct impact on fertility. It is worth to perform a preventive AMH test to respond to the risk of loss of fertility as early as possible.
- Semen parameters play an equally important role, they can be checked by performing an extended semen test. The smaller the number of motile and normal sperm cells in the semen, the lower the chances of fertilization.
- Infertility disorders such as endometriosis in women and varicocele in men. Depending on the disorder and its severity, the chances of fertilization decrease.
- Disorders accompanying infertility such as diabetes, autoimmune diseases, or infectious diseases reduce the chances of getting pregnant.
- Genetic factors - in vitro procedure can be verified on the basis of genetic tests of the couple, but also of pre-implantation tests of embryos.
- BMI - overweight and obesity reduce the chance of getting pregnant. BMI over 30 significantly reduces fertility. The same applies to being underweight. The correct BMI should be between 18.5 and 24.99.
- Cigarette smoking - the toxic substances contained in tobacco smoke reduce the chances of getting pregnant even by half compared to non-smoking women. Cigarette smoking also reduces the quality of semen (it affects the morphology and motility of sperm cells).
- The structure of the reproductive organs - the absence or obstruction of one fallopian tube in a woman or the absence of one testicle in a man can make conception of a child much more difficult. The chances of getting pregnant are much higher when the couple has no anatomical defects.
- The length of infertility and the history of its treatment, if any.
- Patients’ mental condition. Infertility can also be an effect of mental blockage, especially of strong stress, and also depression. Bad mental condition also does not favour the implantation of an embryo and maintenance of pregnancy.
- Diet and lifestyle. What we eat and how we spend our time affects the quality of the reproductive cells and, in the case of a woman, also the success of embryo implantation and the course of pregnancy.