Fertility treatment for men and women: what are the options at a glance?

In this article we intend to offer a broad-brush summary of what options may be available to people with concerns about their own or their partner’s fertility and who may be considering fertility treatment or infertility treatment. Inevitably a quick overview summary cannot cover any one of the fertility treatments in depth but for those who would like to know more, there’s a full explanation of each treatment we mention on our website. The website is also up-to-date with the latest audited results and success rates as well as articles about new developments in assisted fertility treatments.

In our summary of the help that may be available, we set out a fertility treatment definition and address the questions What is fertility treatment? What are the different fertility treatment steps? and What does fertility treatment involve?

The basics: a fertility treatment definition

The definition of a fertility treatment or technique is any medical intervention designed to assist people with fertility problems. These may stem from male infertility, female infertility or both. Fertility treatments also include assisted reproduction for single women or lesbian couples looking to become parents, and women who wish to postpone parenthood until the time is right. We will start to answer the question of What is fertility treatment? by taking a look at the most commonly used and best-known infertility treatments: artificial insemination, in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and egg donation.

First steps in fertility treatment: artificial insemination

Artificial insemination is the simplest of the techniques used to assist with conception. It consists of depositing a semen sample, which has been prepared in advance in the laboratory, inside the woman’s uterus. The selection and preparation stages increase the potential of the spermatozoa, and the chances of the egg being fertilised are improved by decreasing the distance separating the spermatozoon from the ovum.

Infertility treatment: IVF

In vitro fertilisation is the technique which would be the next step in assisted reproduction when artificial insemination has been unsuccessful, or frequently as a first step where it is more appropriate. IVF is the laboratory-based union of the egg and sperm – in vitro – to obtain fertilised embryos and transfer them to the uterus. The process starts with stimulating the ovaries to produce more than the single oocyte they would normally do each month and collecting them. They are then fertilised in vitro, the most viable of the embryos are selected and one of them is placed directly into the patient’s uterus. IVF is frequently the recommended fertility treatment for PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome).

Egg donation

Egg donation is the process whereby a woman with fertility problems receives donated eggs to get pregnant. It may be recommended as the appropriate fertility treatment for couples who have already been through an unsuccessful cycle of In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) using their own spermatozoa and oocytes. In this procedure, the oocytes from the donor will be combined with spermatozoa from the male partner to produce embryos using the well-established technique of IVF; these are transferred to the recipient in order to achieve the longed-for pregnancy. As such, egg donation makes the miracle of childbirth possible for women who would not be able to have children any other way.

What does fertility treatment involve? Fertility preservation

A further treatment option is fertility preservation. This can be a life-changing opportunity for women who wish to delay parenthood for a variety of personal reasons which may relate to career, finances or relationship status. It provides a kind of insurance against the inevitable decline in fertility with age and allows the patient to wait until the time is right. It is also invaluable for women who are due to undergo cancer treatments or other medical procedures which may compromise their future fertility.

In this technique, oocytes are collected in exactly the same way as for IVF, but they are immediately vitrified. This is similar to freezing except that this particular method prevents the formation of ice crystals, thereby avoiding damage to the oocytes. When the woman decides the time is right, the oocytes are fertilised with sperm from the male partner or from a donor and then the IVF process continues in the normal way.

Fertility treatment steps: new techniques and developments

In addition to the basic fertility treatment steps, from artificial insemination at the simplest end of the scale to egg donation at the most complex, there is a wide range of new developments and techniques which medical specialists have developed and continue to advance. Fertility specialists at IVI have in many cases participated actively in these developments, for example in the advancement of Sperm Microinjection and the Embryoscope®. In this way we continue to improve on the impressive success rates we have already achieved, with some of these developments allowing major advances in achieving the desired pregnancy for people who would previously have had to abandon their dreams of parenthood.

These are some of the additions to the first steps in fertility treatment which have become available. Some are refinements which allow safeguards and assurances for people who wish to avoid passing on a particular genetic anomaly to their children. Many of the new developments build on the first steps in fertility treatment, with IVF remaining at the centre of a more complex and refined process.

EmbryoScope

Part of the basic IVF process is the observation of developing embryos in the laboratory, after fertilisation and before they are implanted back into the uterus. The EmbryoScope is an incubator for the embryos which allows real-time viewing of the embryo’s cell division. This technique increases the likelihood of the IVF treatment resulting in a successful pregnancy since it bypasses the step of removing the embryos from the incubator to check on their progress.

Sperm donation

In certain cases of couples with severe male infertility or for single women who wish to start their own family, the use of carefully screened donor sperm can be the solution. It is used both for artificial insemination and IVF techniques.

Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI)

This is an assisted reproduction technique included within in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment. It has enabled pregnancy to be achieved successfully in couples diagnosed with severe male factor infertility. The man provides a semen sample or may need to undergo a testicular biopsy in order to extract and select the most promising spermatozoa to fertilise the oocytes. Fertilisation takes place by injecting the sperm directly into the egg, with this direct contact facilitating the IVF process.

MACS

MACS is a technique which allows the spermatozoa with the soundest characteristics to be selected for use in assisted reproduction treatments. This technique removes spermatozoa which are not viable and selects the most promising ones, thus increasing the chances of pregnancy.

Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD)

PGD is the diagnosis of genetic and chromosomal alterations in embryos before they are implanted, in order to screen them out and ensure that any babies subsequently born are free of hereditary diseases. This technique is carried out via IVF with sperm microinjection through ICSI. See the video on our IVI YouTube channel for more about PGD.

Non-invasive prenatal tests

These cell-free foetal DNA tests are the most complete non-invasive prenatal tests that exist. Their purpose is to check for chromosome changes in the foetus, and they are recommended for all women who want to screen for the presence of chromosomal abnormalities in the foetus without putting their pregnancy at risk.

Compatibility Genetic Test (CGT 547)

The Compatibility Genetic Test is an innovative technique that makes it possible to reduce the chances of patients passing on genetic anomalies to any children they may have. Currently there are around 7,000 diseases known to be caused by abnormalities in specific genes, and 1 in every 100 babies born presents one of these diseases. Even though genetic diseases cannot be cured, they can be screened out using the CGT 547 testing technique.

What is fertility treatment? Personal care

In addition to the basic first steps in fertility treatment and the new developments in techniques we have described, IVI is an organisation dedicated to personal care, looking after not only the physical aspects of assisted reproduction but, equally importantly, the emotional wellbeing of our patients. For this reason we have developed specialised services such as IVI Baby designed to take some of the stress out of the assisted reproduction experience, and the ROPA method, which stands for Reception of Oocytes from the Partner, allowing same-sex couples to share motherhood.

Contacting us at IVI

We hope this summary has helped to explain that what is involved in fertility treatments ranges from fairly straightforward and simple to highly complex, with additional specialised techniques included where this is advisable for your own individual circumstances. No two fertility treatments are identical because no two patients present exactly the same set of symptoms and circumstances. To discuss your individual needs, do get in touch. You can contact us through our online contact form and one of our medical advisers will be pleased to get back to you. We’re here to help.