In Vitro Fertilisation
(IVF) was developed by Professor Steptoe and Edwards resulting in the birth of the worlds first in vitro fertilisation baby in 1978. Robert Forman, CRM London Medical Director is one of the most experienced in vitro fertilisation doctors in the country having commenced working in in vitro fertilisation with Steptoe and Edwards back in 1982 and since then he has been responsible for the births of thousands of in vitro fertilisation babies.In vitro fertilisation is a three stage procedure involving an initial phase of injections to stimulate the growth of multiple eggs (typically 12 to 14 eggs are obtained in each cycle). The eggs are then collected through the vagina using ultrasound. This procedure is best performed under a light anaesthetic. The male partner usually would produce his sperm on the same day although depending on the individual circumstances sperm can be kept frozen at the clinic. In vitro fertilisation each egg is then placed in a droplet of culture fluid containing all the nutrients required for embryo development and approximately 50,000 sperm are added to each egg. The sperm and eggs are then cultured overnight in one of our incubators. CRM London has many incubators available (a ratio of approximately 1 incubator for every 50 in vitro fertilisation cycles which is very rare as most clinics would have 1 incubator for every 100 to 400 cycles) The advantage of such a high ratio of incubators to cycles is that the incubator door does not need to be opened frequently preserving ideal growth conditions for the eggs and embryos.
The day following egg collection our scientists check the eggs for signs of fertilisation. We have a performance target that 65% of eggs fertilise following in vitro fertilisation. The fertilised eggs are allowed to develop for a further 48 hours until they reach the day 3 stage when we anticipate that the best embryos will have between 6 and 8 cells. Usually embryos will be transferred into your uterus at this day 3 stage but if you have many embryos with on this day we may suggest that you undergo a blastocyst transfer This involves developing the embryos for a further 2 days in the laboratory until they become blastocysts on day 5.
Embryo transfer is a very important process in which the best embryos are placed in your uterus. We only transfer 2 embryos in women under 40 years old although 3 embryos can be replaced in women older than this having in vitro fertilisation treatment with their own eggs. The results of in vitro fertilisation treatment are closely related to a woman’s age but other factors to be taken into account include hormone levels, the presence of fibroids in the uterus and other gynaecological conditions such as ovarian cysts.
At CRM London just over 50% of our treatment cycles involve in vitro fertilisation.
In vitro fertilisation results
CRM London in vitro fertilisation PLUS
- CRM London has many incubators available for culturing eggs and embryos (a ratio of approximately 1 incubator for every 50 in vitro fertilisation cycles which is very rare as most clinics would have 1 incubator for every 100 to 400 cycles) The advantage of such a high ratio of incubators to cycles is that the incubator door does not need to be opened frequently preserving ideal growth conditions for the eggs and embryos.
- Embryo transfer is a delicate procedure and we like to do this in low light conditions to avoid “traumatising” the embryos. Also neither partner should wear perfume or scented deodorants during these procedures as we believe the chemicals within these products can have a negative effect on the developing embryos.
