IVF (In Vitro Fertilization) is one of the technologies to increase the chances of pregnancy. The oocytes and sperms are fertilized outside the body by selecting several sperms and putting them into a culture dish. The sperms will then surround and naturally penetrate into the oocytes.
Procedure
It starts with an injection to stimulate the eggs on the 2nd day of the menstrual cycle. The injection takes about 9-14 days. During this period, the doctor will make an appointment for an ultrasound to follow on the size of oocytes. When the oocytes have grown to the right size, they will be taken out through the vagina. Then, the sperms are collected on the same day from the man and separating only the completes one by a specialist. After that, the IVF procedure begins with multiple sperms selected and put into a culture dish. The sperms surround the oocytes and naturally penetrate into the oocytes. After fertilization, an embryo is born. Next, the embryo will be fed until the 5th day, called the Blastocyst stage. If the embryo grows well and strong, the doctor will make an appointment for the patient to transfer the complete embryo back into the uterus for continued growth in the womb of the woman.
IVF is suitable for:
– Females with an abnormality of the fallopian tubes that are constricted or blocked on both sides
– Females with abnormal ovulation
– Females with endometriosis or pelvic fibrosis
– People with genetic abnormalities
– Infertility without any known causes
– Male with infertility problems, which would necessitate to take sperms out of the sperm tube or the use of testicular tissue
How is IVF different from ICSI?
The difference between IVF and ICSI is on the fertilization process. In IVF, multiple eggs and sperms are mixed in a culture dish. The sperms naturally swim to fertilize the oocytes. Meanwhile, ICSI involves using a needle to inject a sperm directly into the oocyte. ICSI may be more successful and suitable for a man with weak sperms or when the sperms are unable to penetrate the oocytes by themselves like in the IVF method. Therefore, ICSI has a higher success rate.