Infertility
Advanced therapies
Small numbers of infertile couples –about 5% -- may need more advanced forms of treatment called advanced reproductive technologies (ART). Performed by fertility specialists called Reproductive Endocrinologists (REs), advanced therapies nowadays are becoming more and more successful in achieving pregnancies for couples that traditionally would never have been able to conceive. In all ART procedures, women take a series of medications to stimulate ovulation and multiple egg development. Eggs are retrieved from the woman under sedation and from there, various procedures may occur, including:
- In vitro fertilization (IVF)
This is a process where eggs are exposed to sperm in a glass/petri dish and the resulting embryo is then transferred back into the uterus.
- Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI)
This is used in conjunction with IVF when the male has a low sperm count, where a single sperm is injected into the egg for fertilization.
- Assisted hatching
This is also used in conjunction with IVF when the male has a low sperm count, where a single sperm is injected into the egg for fertilization.
Other procedures and therapies, like cryopreservation, egg donation, and more may also be used to enhance conception.
- Cryopreservation
This is the freezing of embryos for later use; in a typical IVF cycle, anywhere from 2 to 4 embryos are transferred back into the woman. Embryos that are not transferred can be frozen and used in later cycles if IVF is not successful the first time or in an attempt to achieve another pregnancy.
- Egg donation
This is a process whereby an identified or anonymous woman donates her eggs for infertile women to use to conceive. Egg donation helps women who: cannot produce healthy eggs on their own; have unsuccessful ovulation/hormone therapies; have early onset of menopause or surgically-induced menopause; have premature ovarian failure; have abnormal eggs and repetitive failures with IVF; and for those women who carry genetic abnormalities or genetically transmitted diseases.
