We know that there is a lot of information to take in before starting your fertility journey, so we’ve tried to summarise some of the key aspects of what may lie ahead for you if you do decide to start having treatment.
We’ve included detail around how long the process might take, what types of IVF treatment exist, and the options around using your own – or someone else’s – eggs and sperm.
In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) is the most effective form of assisted reproduction available today, helping millions of people achieve their dream of becoming parents. In simple terms, it means fertilization happens in a laboratory rather than inside the body, and helps those patients who, for several causes, have not been able to conceive naturally.
After it is outside the woman’s body, the egg is fertilized with the sperm, resulting in an embryo that is then transferred to the uterus. IVF has successfully been used since 1978, and has since helped millions of people become parents.
A typical IVF cycle follows a few key steps: 10 to 12 days of hormonal medication that stimulates the ovaries to produce several eggs (instead of the regular single egg produced every month), which are then collected in a short procedure called egg retrieval. This procedure is conducted in the surgery room, under mild sedation, and takes around 20 to 30 minutes. The patient wakes up and can go home that same day, but the work does not stop there: the eggs are naturally fertilized with sperm in the laboratory, resulting in one or more embryos that are then transferred to the uterus in a non-invasive procedure. If the implantation is successful, it can give place to a pregnancy.
IVF may be recommended if you are facing challenges conceiving naturally, based on age, or if there is a risk of passing on a genetic condition. Success depends on several factors (including age, embryo quality, and the expertise of the clinic, which is why choosing the right team matters).
In this case, a donor’s eggs are fertilized in the laboratory, and the embryo(s) is/are transferred to the mother’s uterus. One of Redia IVF’s programmes covers the IVF cost for donor egg, offering 100% refund guarantee if no results occur after 3 stimulation cycles. This programme is ideal for women over 40, as it covers fertility patients that are up to 50 years old!
For about half of couples facing infertility, and contrary to popular belief, the cause can be related to sperm. ICSI (Intracystoplasmic Sperm Injection) is a specialized form of IVF designed precisely for these cases when, instead of allowing the sperm to fertilize the egg naturally in the laboratory, a single healthy sperm is directly injected into the egg, which is one of the most precise and highly effective techniques. Nowadays, most clinics use this technique as it has proven to give the best results, although it will always depend on the case and on the doctor’s recommendation.
ICSI is usually suggested when sperm count, motility, or morphology is below normal, including in cases of azoospermia or when previous IVF cycles resulted in poor or failed fertilization.
When there is no male factor involved, success rates for IVF and ICSI are comparable. When sperm quality is the challenge, ICSI significantly improves the chances of fertilization. Either way, age and overall fertility health remain important factors, and your medical team will always recommend the best approach for your own situation.
For many women, egg donation is what makes pregnancy possible, since it is one of the most effective treatments available, with pregnancy rates that can reach up to 70%. It opens the door to motherhood for women who, without it, might have no other viable path.
An egg donation treatment can be recommended if you have a reduced ovarian reserve, premature menopause, ovaries that do not response correctly to the stimulation, or a history of repeated IVF failures. It is also an option for women who are carriers of a hereditary genetic condition and want to avoid passing it on, as well as a standard practice for women over 40, since age is a key factor for women trying to conceive.
The egg donor is carefully selected by the clinic: they must check her full medical history and her bloodwork, psychological tests must be conducted, as well as any other required tests by the assisted reproduction legislation of the country where treatment is taking place. If the donor is accepted, she will patiently wait until there is a patient she matches phenotypically and genetically [reformulate, hate how it sounds]. Once it has been confirmed, the donor will start an ovarian stimulation that will last 10 to 12 days, followed by the egg retrieval. The eggs will be fertilized that same day (with partner or donor’s sperm) and, after a short incubation period, the resulting embryo will be transferred onto the patient’s uterus.
Something crucial to understand egg donation’s success rates is that, in donor egg treatment, outcomes depend on the donor’s eggs age, not on the patient’s eggs. This is why pregnancy rates are significantly higher and miscarriage rates are lower when compared to IVF (with own eggs). If a woman is over 40, this distinction is very important in order to understand the outcome.
Donor sperm makes parenthood possible in situation where the male partner has no sperm (azoospermia), has poor sperm quality or carries a genetic condition. It can also be the path chosen by single women or same sex couples who want to start a family.
The process follows the same steps as a standard IVF cycle; the key difference is that fertilization in the laboratory uses a carefully screened donor sperm rather than a partner’s. before starting, the doctor will assess the patient’s fertility and health to confirm this is the right approach.
Yes, it is absolutely possible. The Redia IVF team will guide you through the option and build a plan around your specific situation.
Since every IVF journey is personal, your clinic will provide a protocol designed specifically for you, but we wanted to let you know what you can generally expect, whether you are using your own eggs or donor eggs.
A typical cycle takes between six and nine weeks, thought the exact timeline depends on your menstrual cycle, how your body responds to medication, and your personal schedule.
Once your protocol has been decided by your doctor, the clinic will issue a prescription for your stimulation medication. This is part of a process called ovarian stimulation, which encourages your ovaries to mature more eggs than they naturally would in a cycle. You will begin your injections according to the clinic’s instructions.
Since your clinic will be in a different city or country, they will help you arrange travel, but we always recommend to travel at least two days before egg collection. After the retrieval, your eggs will be fertilized in the laboratory (through standard IVF or ICSI) and the embryos will be developed until reaching blastocyst stage (usually reached at the fifth day of development) at which point the will be transferred or frozen.
If you are on an egg donation programme, the clinic will identify a suitable donor and begin her stimulation. You do not need to be present for this part of the process.
If you have a partner that is providing a sperm sample, he will need to travel to the clinic to do so, around the time of the donor’s egg retrieval. Fertilization will then take place in the laboratory, where the embryos will ideally develop to the blastocyst stage.
The clinic will help you with any doubts you might have regarding how to arrange your travel plans, but we always recommend to be in the city where the clinic is located at least one day before your embryo transfer.
Once the embryo transfer is done, any remaining embryos will be frozen and stored for future use. Around fifteen days after your transfer, you will have a beta-HCG blood test to find out the result. If it is positive, an ultrasound around week seven of pregnancy will confirm the heartbeat.
If this cycle doesn’t result in a pregnancy, the clinic will be in touch to discuss next steps. If you have frozen embryos, a subsequent transfer will be arrange by the time you feel ready for it. If not, a new stimulation cycle will be the path forward, so that you are never left without options or without guidance.