Couples with the following conditions can benefit from IVF treatment:
• Ovulation disorders;
• Blocked or damaged fallopian tubes;
• Endometriosis;
• Male factor infertility such as Low sperm count, poor sperm morphology, poor motility, infections e.t.c.
• HIV discordant couples;
• Unexplained infertility.

• Consultation: This will enable you get familiar with the Physician. At this point, details of the couple infertility history will be taken, documented in the patients file to enable follow-up and then request for some test to be done by couple.
• Examination of your reasons of infertility: The preliminary testing will help determine the possible cause of infertility and action steps to be taken to help both partners achieve desire outcome.
• Booking of appointment: Schedule a date for start-up of your treatment with our Fertility Nurse.
• Down-regulation: To prepare the patient’s reproductive system for the procedure. An ultrasound scan will be performed 15 days after commencing down-regulation to ensure adequate down-regulation prior to stimulation. This process can take up to a month in some patients.
Outcome measures are:
i. endometrial thickness.
ii. Presence of cyst and fibroids.
• Hormonal stimulation of the female ovaries: Induction of the ovaries to cause development of follicles, growth and maturity of oocytes.

• Ultra sound scan to show progression of stimulation: The first scan is performed on the eighth day of stimulation assess the response of the ovaries, while the second scan will be done on the tenth day to confirm stimulated ovaries. Each ovary is assessed separately using the following parameters:
i. Endometrial thickness. ii. Number and size of follicles. iii. Monitoring is confirmed when follicles are 18 to 20mm in size.

• Induction of Ovulation: Trigger of the ovaries to bring about the release of the development and ripened eggs when the follicles are between 18 and 20 mm in diameter.

• Semen sample: On the day of trigger, male partner will be advice to make available his semen sample for evaluation and treatment on the day of retrieval. Where there is a possible difficulty with ejaculation or no full assurance of the partner’s availability on this day, he is advised weeks before to produce semen for freezing at an additional cost (check price cost with the Nurses). This will be thawed and used to inseminate the eggs on the retrieval day.
• Egg aspiration from female ovaries: To aspirate the follicular fluid from the ovaries. Within the fluid are the eggs that will be identified by the embryologist and separated for insemination and culture.
• Fertilization of the aspirated egg with the sperm cells: This can be done either by concentrating the prepared sperms cells with the eggs or injecting one morphologically good sperms into an egg and monitored in the incubator for 18 to 24 hours to determine fertilization. The method of treating the eggs with sperm cells is determined by the quality/ quantity of the sperm cells after wash and the previous history of fertilization rate.
• Embryo Transfer (ET): After fertilization, the resulting embryos are allowed to grow to multiple cells stage for 3 to 5 days before they are transferred into the womb of the woman. At this point, not more than 1 – 3 embryos are replaced in the womb depending on the age of the woman, quality and number of embryos available for ET, and prognosis.
• Cryopreservation: Any spare embryos following ET can be frozen for future usage at an additional cost (check cost with the nurses). Couple will be advised on the options for spared embryos.
• Supportive drugs: Administered to the patient per vagina from the day of egg retrieval to the day of pregnancy test and beyond depending on the outcome of pregnancy test.
• Pregnancy test: This can be done 14 days after embryo transfer to check for treatment outcome. Depending on the outcome of the test result, your fertility Nurse will advise you on the next course of action.
• Pregnancy scan confirmation: This is to confirm that the baby is alive and breathing. It is usually carried out 2 weeks after pregnancy test have been reported positive.

IVF treatment has many benefits, as well as certain risks. Below are general risks and benefits to note when considering IVF treatment. On consultation, your fertility specialist will be able to go into detail about the various risks and benefits of IVF treatment.
Risks
• As there are with any surgical procedure, in vitro fertilization has certain risks associated with it. Due to technology and medical expertise required for successful IVF treatment, treatment cycles can be expensive, and the initial cycle is not 100% guaranteed.
• The use of multiple embryos during embryo transfer could result in multiple births.
• Approximately 5% of patients stimulated for IVF treatment may encounter Ovarian Hyper stimulation Syndrome (OHSS). However, this can be taken care of by your physician.
• Others may include: ectopic pregnancy (extra uterine pregnancy); Drug reactions; irritation at site of injection; Headache; Restlessness; and Fatigue.
Benefits
• One of the most obvious benefits of in vitro fertilization is that it can enable an infertile couple to have a healthy baby.
• IVF treatment can also reduce the need for surgery on the fallopian tubes.
• It reduces the risk of transfer of HIV infection in discordant couples.
In a recent study, nearly 1,000 European children who were conceived through in vitro fertilization and monitored from birth until age 10 were shown to be as healthy as children who were conceived naturally. Hence, IVF is deemed a safe method of conception.