Your IVF Journey

ASSISTED REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGY (ART) IS THE TECHNOLOGY USED TO HELP ACHIEVE PREGNANCY IN PATIENTS WITH FERTILITY PROBLEMS.

IVF LAW AND LEGISLATION IN CZECH REPUBLIC

Surrogacy – the clinic is responsible for the treatment itself only; there is no obligation to provide surrogate mothers, nor have any involvement in the relationship between the genetic parents and the surrogate

What Your IVF Journey Looks Like

Fisrt step of Assisted Reproduction begins at the clinic – consultation with an IVF Specialist. Reproductive history and abilities of a couple are analysed in detail. Depending on the analysis, specific methods are recommended and a treatment plan is drafted.

DAY 0.

Eggs

To discover what the problem may be a woman goes through thorough examination. Age-related inability to produce eggs is one of the most common causes of female infertility. During the analysis we find how efficient her ovaries are, and evaluate the quality of her oocytes. If there is no problem for use of own eggs  for the treatment, eggs are retrieved via puncture and gently applied suction from ovaries under short-term general anaesthesia. If there is a major problem causing impossibility to use own eggs for successful treatment, we recommend the use of donated eggs. In this case,there is possible to  choose from our extensive database a suitable donor and treatment can proceed without any delay. SPERM The basic examination of the man is spermiogram. A spermogram is the primary method of establishing the presence and cause of male infertility. Male fertility depends on sperm quality, count and motility. According to sperm analysis, a suitable method of egg fertilization is determined. If no sperm cells in the ejaculate are found, surgical sperm retrieval from testicles using MESA or TESE guided by a urologists under general anaesthesia is recommended. If this method does not lead to retrieval of quality sperm cells, it is possible to use donor sperm if the couple wishes. FERTILISATION OF EGGS AND EMBRYO DEVELOPMENT In vitro fertilization is a simple conventional method of ectopic fertilization. The main principle of the IVF method is a spontaneous fusion of male sex cells sperms) and female sex cells (eggs) in a cultivation medium under strictly defined and monitored conditions. Sometimes, the parameters of a semen analysis (agility, morfology of sperm etc.) are not suitable for the use of this conventional method. To increase the success rate of fertilization, sperm can be directly injected into the egg (ICSI method – intracytoplasmic injection of sperm). Other methods which can further raise the success rate of pregnancy and the birth of a healthy child are specific andrological methods MSS and MACS which enable the selection of viable and mature sperm with a significantly lower probability of any genetic DNA damage in the nucleus of the sperm.
DAY 1. – 5.

Embryo cultivation

By oocyte fertilization an embryo comes into existence. It is impossible to ensure that the connection between a sperm cell and an egg develops only into perfect embryos. It is a matter of coincidence.

Prolonged cultivation of embryos is the most basic method allowing IIVF specialist  to distinguish between healthy and imperfect embryos.  Defective embryos stop to develope during the first five days in the lab. The embryos that continue to develop until day 5 are considered healthy. One, maximum two, embryos will be transferred into the uterus and the rest of the available good quality embryos can be cryopreserved.

Embryo development is monitored under a special microscope outside the incubator, EmbryoScope. This method allows for continuous on-screen monitoring of the embryo. Embryo cell division is monitored daily and those embryos which develop normally until the blastocyst stage are selected for embryo transfer. Embryo monitoring increases the chance of a successful pregnancy.

EmbryoGlue® is an implantation promoting transfer medium. It is not glue in the literal sense but it is enriched with everything that an embryo needs to help implantation in the womb and so helps this process. EmbryoGlue® contains a high concentration of implantation promoting protein, which is present in the follicular, oviductal and uterine fluids. Studies have shown that the concentration of this protein increases dramatically on the day of implantation and decreases to near normal levels by the next day, indicating that it is important for implantation. Embryos are transferred to this medium before embryo transfer to allow the protein to bind to the embryo. Both the embryo and the wall of the womb have receptors for this protein. In this way it is thought that the EmbryoGlue® acts like an adhesive for the embryo as it implants in the wall of the womb.

When a risk of congenital genetic diseases is increased, we can assess chromosomal genetic characteristics of an embryo via PGD (pre-implantation genetic diagnosis) and eliminate the transfer of a defective embryo.

DAY 5.

Transfer of an embryo into a uterus

After successful cultivation, the suitable embryo is transferred into a uterus. Embryo transfer is a procedure whereby embryos are placed into the patient’s uterus. It is a simple, painless procedure very much like a routine gynaecological exam. Embryos are deposited in the uterus through a thin catheter.

Non-transferred developing embryos can be cryopreserved providing an opportunity to conceive another child at a later date by thawing a fertilized embryo (FET).

DAY 6. – 7.

Embryo implantation

On day six and seven of embryonic development, thus one or two days after the embryo transfer, an embryo implants into the endometrial lining.  The implantation is influenced by different factors and mediators, which are not perceptible via any visual technique. The endometrial height visible on the ultrasound is an indicator to be considered.

The chance for successful embryo implantation can be increased by an EmbryoGlue®, an implantation promoting transfer medium. It is not glue in the literal sense but it is enriched with everything that an embryo needs to help implantation in the womb and so helps this process.

Independent studies show that it does have a positive impact on the implantation rate compared to embryo transfers without EmbryoGlue.

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