About IVF

AT A GLANCE - Infertility, treatment possibilities and ORIGIO

• Infertility* treatment today is generally considered successful, with obtained pregnancy rates comparable to natural pregnancy rates. There are however, side effects associated with the treatment.
• Infertility treatment, including in vitro procedures - is progressing, with new scientific advances creating new opportunities which can benefit infertile couples.
• Awareness of infertility is increasing. Through the media, there is a wealth of information about infertility and the many treatment advances. This makes the modern management of infertility care challenging to everyone involved.

In Vitro Fertilisation. The conventional infertility treatment

For decades, IVF has been the most significant technique used to manage infertility. Since the very beginning, it has led to the development of new technology.
The first live birth following IVF was that of Louise Brown in 1978. Since then, hundreds of thousands of IVF children have been born worldwide.

IVF is a technology through which fertilization is achieved outside the body. In a conventional IVF cycle, women typically undergo hormone treatment before the egg collection.
In a natural cycle, a woman normally produces one mature egg that may be fertilized following sexual intercourse and subsequently implant and develop in the uterus. In IVF, it is usually necessary to stimulate the growth of several follicles for each treatment cycle, in an attempt to maximize the pregnancy rate.
The hormone treatment normally consists of three steps. The first step involves hormones which suppress the woman’s own hormonal cycle. The second step stimulates the growth of several eggs. The third step triggers the final maturation and the eggs are collected just before ovulation.
The hormones are normally administered in the form of a nasal spray or injections, and the hormone treatment may be associated with side effects.
The eggs are usually collected by a trans-vaginal technique with the aid of ultrasound. Following egg collection, the subsequent insemination and fertilization takes place in vitro. After 2-5 days, the embryo is normally transferred to the uterus where it may implant and develop into a foetus.

In Vitro Maturation. A less-disruptive treatment for infertility

In Vitro Maturation (IVM®) is a promising new technology in assisted reproduction (ART). It is an alternative to conventional In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) in which the women are required to undergo hormone treatment prior to the egg collection.

In IVM® the hormone treatment of the women is eliminated or minimized, and the eggs are matured in vitro in specially-designed ORIGIO MediCult IVM® media. The subsequent insemination and fertilization takes place in vitro as in conventional ART procedures. IVM® requires the attendance of the woman undergoing treatment for only a week, with little or no impact on daily life. Side effects that may be associated with undergoing hormonal stimulation are eliminated, as in-vivo hormonal treatment is obsolete.

*Infertility is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the inability of a couple to achieve conception or bring a pregnancy to term after one year or more of regular, unprotected sexual intercourse. Many couples worldwide are unable to conceive a child and many also experience secondary infertility, i.e. are unable to conceive a second or subsequent child.