In vitro fertilisation is the joining of a woman’s egg
and a man’s sperm outside the body. After fertilisation has taken place
an embryo is formed.
If a woman/patient cannot get pregnant using her own egg
cells, donor eggs provided by an eligible, anonymous donor are
fertilised by the sperm of the patient’s partner.
In case of unsuccessful fertilisation attempts using her
partner’s sperm, egg cells of a woman are fertilised by the sperm of an
eligible anonymous donor.
In case of unsuccessful fertilisation attempts using a
couple's own reproductive cells, IVF with donor embryos from eligible
anonymous egg and sperm donors.
Intracytoplasmic sperm injection of eggs is the most
frequently used technique of egg fertilisation. On average, 8-9 out of
10 eggs will fertilise this way. During the procedure a single sperm is
selected and injected directly into an egg using a microneedle.
The most common cause of embryo implantation failure and
miscarriage in the first trimester of pregnancy are genetic
abnormalities.
Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis is the testing of
embryos for the presence of a specific type of chromosomal abnormality
which is known to be present in the genetic information of one or both
partners of a couple.
Pre-implantation genetic screening is the testing of all
or some selected pairs of chromosomes in otherwise genetically healthy
couples.
